Wands At the Ready
by Nieriel Nighthaven
Summary: Severus/Sirius Marauders' summer before 7th year. James and Sirius got kicked out of James's house for the afternoon, AGAIN. In their boredom they pay a visit to their old pal Lily Evans. Sirius never expects to bump into Severus Snape on their trip...
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

Summary: Severus/Sirius Marauders' summer before seventh year. James and Sirius got kicked out of James's house for the afternoon, AGAIN. In their boredom they pay a visit to their old pal Lily Evans. Sirius never expects to bump into Severus Snape on their trip and he really never expected to fall in love.

* * *

**Chapter One**

It was summer before the Marauder's seventh year. While many of the up in coming seventh year students were beginning to worry about life after school, there were two Gryffindors in particular that didn't seemed bothered by the impending doom of life outside of school. James Potter and Sirius Black really just couldn't care less.

The best of friends, James and Sirius lived life one step at a time. They took on every task in life as their only and lived like they were dying. If it weren't for the thoughtful and (sometimes annoyingly) know-it-all warnings of their dear friend, Remus Lupin, they might have not even survived to see this wonderfully cheerful summer day. But this story isn't about their friend Remus Lupin. This story is hardly about James Potter and his unhealthy obsession for a certain redhead by the name Lily Evens. This story is about the cunning, smart, funny, and devilishly handsome Sirius Black. (Opinions may vary.) Though on this particular day, Sirius hardly seemed the center of attention.

"So James, what say you to a game of wizards chess?" Sirius Black asked while leaning his weight on the poll of James's four-poster bed. They where thinking of ways to kill time while _cleaning_ James's room upon his mother's request.

"Nah, you always win. What about one-on-one, Quidditch?" James was laying on his back, staring up at his best mate with smile. Sometimes Sirius wondered if James remembered that he was gay and that he found James extremely attractive. Because if he did, than Sirius was sure that James only smiled at him like that to drive him wild.

"Beater against seeker? That hardly seems fair." Sirius sighed in an off-handed way that challenged James to defend his title, easily pushing away his thoughts of James in any other way than as a friend, they had been through that awkward conversation before and he would really not like to relive it again.

"And why would that be?" James's eyes narrowed as he fell for the carefully (but painfully obviously) placed bait.

"Because, mate, I would obviously win." Sirius said giving a sigh of mock boredom as a playful gleam played in his eyes.

"Is that a challenge?" James asked. Fury crackled like flames behind his eyes as he sat up so he was on eye level with his friend.

"It's certainly not the Giant Squid." Sirius answered with a cocky smile. Although he didn't move, Sirius prepared himself for the worst.

"Your on!" James cried as he jumped from his bed and launched himself at his broom as if being the first to get ready would ensure him as the winner. Of course, the _clean_ floor, that was _entirely spotless,_ couldn't have possibly gotten in James way. And saying so would infer that there could be _no way_ that James could have possibly tripped and landed on his face. Because, of course, they had been cleaning James's room. "Ow!" James howled in pain as his glasses flew from his face and his nose made a pleasantly defined cracking sound.

"Mate, are you okay?" Sirius dropped to his friend's side, carefully avoiding the small puddle of blood that was beginning to form.

"M'kay." James mumbled as he lifted himself from the floor and reached for his wand. In seconds, his nose was mended, the blood was gone, his glasses were on his newly mended nose, and the room was clean.

"Why didn't we do that in the first place?"

Before James had the chance to answer, there was a great noise from the room beneath and both boys had only enough time to pull themselves off of the floor before Mrs. Potter stormed into the room.

"James Harry Potter, you better have a good reason as to why you're using magic when I told you specifically not to."

"Well, I was reaching for my broom and-" James stuttered with fear, which was rightly placed.

"And your broom was supposed to help you clean?" Mrs. Potter asked with her hands on her hips.

"That's how the muggles do it!" James protested.

"That's it, no flying for a week, I mean it. Honestly, you would think that you would have grown up by now."

"No ma'am." Sirius added under his breath, but Mrs. Potter's keen ears caught his input.

"And you, Sirius Orion Black, you may not be my son, but you're as good as. I will not accept back talk from you either! I want both of you out of this house for the afternoon. Merlin knows I need the peace and quiet." With the last well-placed glare delivered, Mrs. Potter took her leave. "Oh and no magic while you're out, you both might be of age but that doesn't mean I can't still put trackers on you."

"Yes ma'am." Both boys hung their heads and waited for the older woman to leave.

"Good going." James shot Sirius a sour look.

"What? It's your fault too." Sirius snapped. Both boys stood glaring at each other, waiting for the other to back down. Finally, Sirius sighed and turned to James. "So, what now?" It was better for him to take the fault seeing as it was mostly his fault, not that he would ever admit that, especially to James.

"I don't know, but we'd best get going before my mother hexes us out." James laughed quietly letting Sirius know that all was good and well between them.

So the two best friends left the war zone they had created and headed out into the unknown. The sweltering sun beat down on their black robes and both instantly regretted wearing them. They came upon a small children's park, only three blocks away from the Potter house. James took a seat on the only working swing and Sirius sat on the top of the four-foot tall slide, his slim hips just fit.

"Remember when we used to hang out here?" Sirius asked and both boys wore a look pure bliss on their faces.

"It's been a while." James nodded as he continued to swing.

As the two sat in a conformable silence they remembered their wonderful times in the now deserted park. They were both pulled from their day dreaming when the voices of some of the neighborhood children could be heard from down the street. Without a word, Sirius climbed down from the slide and James jumped off the swing, both agreeing that it was probably best not to hang around a playground with muggle children running about, there was too much room for an accident to occur. As James joined Sirius on the sidewalk, he stuffed his hands in his pockets.

"So where to mate?" Sirius asked as they started to walk further down the street, the park and the Potter home being left in the distance.

"I'm not sure. We really can't do much without magic." James said with a shrug.

"Well I mean we could always floo somewhere, that can't be tracked by your mother." Sirius said brightening up.

"Yeah, well where are we going to get to a working fireplace and where would we go?" James asked giving his friend with an odd look. Obviously he hadn't thought that part out."

"I don't know, I was only suggesting something to do!" Sirius exclaimed, but it sounded more like a bark.

"Really though, where would we go?" James asked, at least Sirius was thinking of something.

"Well, I guess seeing Moony is out of the question." Sirius thought out loud, their good friend the werwolf was hardly ever around during the summer, and though they had asked why many times in the past, their furry friend was less than generous with his answers. "And I really don't want to see Wormtail, especially because we can't use magic." Sirius added the last of his comment with a smirk.

"Well then it's just you and me mate." James said and lifted his hand from his pocket to clap Sirius on the back. As he did, a folded piece of parchment fluttered from his pocket and landed on the sidewalk.

"You dropped something." Sirius pointed out the small piece of parchment that fell from his that was fluttering to the ground.

James knelt to pick up the piece of paper with a frown on his face. A smile quickly graced his lips as he read the parchment. Sirius looked over his shoulder and then rolled his eyes. There was no mistaking the fancy signature of Lily Evans.

_Dear James,_

_I'm sure when you are reading this you have completely forgotten that I even gave you a letter on the train coming back from Hogwarts. I'm even more sure that Sirius is rolling his eyes over your shoulders right at this moment. I bet you even put these trousers through the wash once or twice, which is why I spelled this letter not to destroy by means of water._

_The real reason why I'm writing to you is I'm running on an assumption. I am assuming you and I will attain Head Boy and Head Girl (which I find to be a fair assumption) and you and are going to need to be civil. (You have no idea how much it pains me to admit that.) So this letter is meant to be a truce of sorts. I think if we actually got to talk (without all of your friends and my friends around) we could get along. (NO JAMES POTTER I DON'T LIKE YOU IN THAT WAY AND SIRIUS STOP SMIRKING.)_

_So I was hoping that you could stop by my home and we can talk without your idiotic friends pulling pranks on me. (Though Remus isn't an idiot.) So you are welcome to my home, 75 Spinner's End. (And don't bring Sirius.)_

_Your Fellow Gryffindor,_

_Lily Evans_

"She's scary, mate." Sirius said when he finished reading the note though it was clear by the dreamy look on his face that James hadn't heard him.

"I know what we can do! Let's go visit Lily!" James said in a bit of a daze. The only thing that he had gotten from the whole letter was that Lily wanted him to go to her house and be friends.

"You're not serious, are you mate?" Sirius asked incredulously.

"No, you are." James said with a broad smile. It comforted Sirius little that James was still in a right state of mind to play the old pun.

"Well, you can't go now, it says I'm not to come." Sirius tried to reason with his insane friend, but it was obvious that it was getting him nowhere.

"That's okay, I'm sure she will let you come in, there's no way she's mean enough to just let you stay out on the street. I wouldn't love her if she was that mean." James stated dreamily completely missing the pained look Sirius gave him at the mention of his love for Lily.

"I'm not sure, Prongs, she's really stubborn. If she still won't go out with you after trying for so long what makes you think that you could convince her of anything?" Sirius knew that mentioning all of his best mate's failed attempts at wooing Lily Potter was a bit low, but he needed to hear himself say it to stop his racing heart. Despite James being straight and despite him already turning Sirius down once, it was hard for Padfoot to let go of his crush for the other man.

But it was no use, James had his mind set and he'd be damned if anything forced him otherwise. James literally dragged Sirius by his collar in the direction of the muggle bus stop. When they got there, there were a few muggles who were also waiting. They gave the two boys strange looks because of their attire, but wrote it off as rebellious teens and continued on with their business.

"James, I really don't think this is such a good idea." Sirius whispered, but he already knew that it was no use. There would be no reasoning with the overly hyper Gryffindor.

The remainder of the wait, and the bus ride, was extremely quiet between the two best mates. Sirius was still annoyed and James was stuck on Cloud Nine, so neither really felt like talking. They stayed on the bus for what felt like hours for the both of them. For James, the ride seemed longer out of anticipation. Sirius felt like he was living a lifetime on the bus because he was completely dreading having to wait for his lovesick friend for hours more.

"We're here!" James cried in excitement as he jumped up and ran off the bus. Sirius sighed and followed after him.

"James, please don't make and arse of yourself." Sirius pleaded one last time. If James wouldn't see reason then the least Sirius could do was try and keep him from losing all the pride that he had.

"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. You should worry about Lily 'cause I'm going to sweep her off her feet better than my ol' broom."

"And that was what I was talking about." Sirius said shaking his head at his hopeless friend.

When the two made it up to the door of 75 Spinner's End, Sirius shook his head at James one last time before turning around to leave. Just then Lily opened the door and Sirius stopped long enough to turn around and give her a nod of his head as a greeting.

"Wait." Lily called. She sounded upset so Sirius turned around, one elegant eyebrow raised. "It's getting dark, maybe you should come in. I was only kidding."

"No it's okay, I'll go for a walk and be back in an hour or so to get James. We need to be getting back by then or his mother will have our heads." Sirius said with a shrug, honestly he really didn't want to hang around the two lovebirds, it made him sick, even if Lily didn't like James. It just reminded him of how, before Lily came around, Sirius had mentally planed out his and James's life together as a couple. He had always like James, especially when he had been the only one there for Sirius every time the boy was kicked out of his house. While he knew that James was straight, he couldn't help but hope that someday he would change his mind and give Sirius a chance. With Lily around, however, Sirius was just constantly reminded that there was no such chance.

Of course if the two got together, Sirius wouldn't be mad, but in that moment, he'd rather choose being alone in the dark then watching the only person he had ever thought he could love make an arse of himself in front of a girl that should be him.

"Just let him go, Lily." James said much too eagerly.

"You're such a horrible friend! How could you just let him out in the dark like that?" Lily chastised him and James came down from his cloud, but only partially.

"Sorry mate. Lily's right, you should come on in." James said giving Sirius a look that clearly said he was sorry for the whole ordeal. It made Sirius feel better, but only by a little.

"No it's okay. Watching you two have lover's spats makes me sick." Sirius said and shrugged while turning around to walk away. When he got to the end of the walkway he turned to face the two, surprised that neither had hexed him yet. What he found nearly broke his heart.

James stood with his hand resting on Lily's back. Lily looked furious, but was looking to James with confusion. James was giving Sirius a sad look. Sirius had told James that he had liked him, even loved him at one point and James took it really well. He had told Sirius that he was straight, but he didn't mind that Sirius did like him. He didn't have any problems and he would make sure that it didn't ruin their friendship. And since that day, James was good to his word. He treated Sirius the same as anyone would treat their best mate and for that Sirius was glad.

"Come on Lily, let it go." James whispered to the confused witch. He turned to lead her into her house, but he turned to catch eyes with Sirius one last time. "Be safe, okay? I'll be ready to go in an hour."

"Sure." Sirius said with a small, grateful smile on his face.

The sun was starting to set over the tops of the trees. Sirius took note to the fact that the area he was in had a lot of trees and green life. The air was fresh and clean, not that it wasn't at the Potter's, but it seemed more so here, and it calmed him. He took in air through his nose and breathed it out through his mouth. He had to remain calm. He couldn't lose control. Part of him always wanted to lose control when James talked about or was around Lily, but he knew he couldn't. It wasn't fair to either of them.

It's not that he didn't like Lily because honestly he really liked her. He could see why James had taken to her. Merlin, if he weren't gay, he'd probably be fighting James for her. It wasn't her. It wasn't even James, not really. Sirius just wanted to be loved.

He didn't go parading it around or anything, but it was obvious that he had a really bad family life. His mother was always going on and on about her youngest son, Regulus. He was the important son, he was the one that showed promise to bring the family name far. And Sirius? Sirius was just extra room that they found as their burden to bare, Karma's little laugh.

In James, Sirius found someone to love, really love, and someone who could love him back. James understood him; he took the time to understand him. They hit it off right away and had been best mates for as long as Sirius could remember (but maybe that's only because he didn't want to remember anytime in his life before James).

If he could find someone else to love, Sirius was sure he could move on. He would never stop loving James, they were best mates and he would always love James for it, but he knew that it was long past time to move on. It was just that no one else even interested him. He had looked at Remus for a while. Though Remus was a great friend, he knew that he could never look at Remus that way. He had enough troubles in his life and having Sirius as a friend was enough. Plus, Remus was straight and it just wouldn't happen.

In moments of desperation, Sirius has looked at Peter. Even years after the small incident, Sirius still shuttered at the thought. Just no. That's all he had to think about the matter, just no. And really? That exhausted all of his options. He really didn't know anyone else, much less want to know anyone at Hogwarts or have anyone at Hogwarts know him that deeply. He had a hard time opening up to people and that was one of his main problems and faults.

Sirius had been so rapped up in his thoughts that he almost missed the small rustling sounds in the bushes. He then just realized that he had no idea where he was. Now it wasn't in a Marauder to panic, but Sirius had to admit he was a bit scared. He was in a place he hardly knew, in the dark, and some mysterious thing was moving in the bushes. Rules and Aunt Potter be damned, Sirius was going to use magic to save his own skin. Steadily, Sirius raised his wand and started to walk towards the thing.

"Put the god damn wand down, a muggle will see." A person stood up from the bushes to face Sirius. And put the wand down he did. His wand clattered to the ground as he stared at the other boy in shock.

"You." Was all he could manage to say.

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

Summary: Severus/Sirius Marauders' summer before seventh year. James and Sirius got kicked out of James's house for the afternoon, AGAIN. In their boredom they pay a visit to their old pal Lily Evans. Sirius never expects to bump into Severus Snape on their trip and he really never expected to fall in love.

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_Last Chapter_

_Sirius had been so rapped up in his thoughts that he almost missed the small rustling sounds in the bushes. He then just realized that he had no idea where he was. Now it wasn't in a Marauder to panic, but Sirius had to admit he was a bit scared. He was in a place he hardly knew, in the dark, and some mysterious thing was moving in the bushes. Rules and Aunt Potter be damned, Sirius was going to use magic to save his own skin. Steadily, Sirius raised his wand and started to walk towards the thing._

_"Put the god damn wand down, a muggle will see." A person stood up from the bushes to face Sirius. And put the wand down he did. His wand clattered to the ground as he stared at the other boy in shock._

_"You." Was all he could manage to say._

* * *

**Chapter Two**

"Yes?" Severus Snape asked as he stepped out of the bushes.

"What are you doing here?" Sirius demanded. He quickly took up his wand again and aimed it at the Slytherin.

"I told you to put that down." Severus said and rolled his eyes. "I'm here because I live in this area."

"I don't take orders from you." Sirius barked through gritted teeth. "And why should I believe you?"

"Well then, it's a good thing I didn't give you any." Severus stated calmly as he brushed himself off and started to walk back in the direction of his home. "And honestly I don't care if you believe me or not."

"Even if I do believe that you live here that doesn't explain what were you doing in the bushes!" Sirius accused not letting Severus leave without an explaination.

"I saw you in the distance and I thought you figured out where I lived and had come to attack me." Severus stated it as if he were telling the weather forecast.

"Trust me, I would not waste time over my summer hunting you down to attack you. I get enough of you in during the school year." Sirius retorted, trying to keep up with the Slytherin, secretly hoping that he would lead them out of the woods.

"Then what are you doing here? And why are you following?" Severus demanded, stopping short so Sirius almost ran into him.

"I'm here because James went to visit Lily." Sirius offered no other explanation, but it didn't seem that he needed to, at the mention of the other marauder, Severus' pale face turned red.

"Oh great, not only do you know where I live but so does bloody Potter." Severus cursed and swiftly turned on his heal, attempting to lose the Gryffindor.

"If you were trying to lose me, you should be using magic. There is no way you can out run me." Sirius barked as he kept up with the smaller boy, easily weaving in and out of the unkept brush.

"I wouldn't need to lose you if you weren't following me!" Severus cried and wiped around again, this time Sirius did actually run head on into the boy.

The collision was fast and gave neither boys nearly enough time to think about their actions. With an undignified cry, Sirius began to fall and before he could consider his actions, Severus easily caught him, pulling Sirius to his feet. It was only then that Sirius realized how close they were. With a slight jump and a noise of discomfort, the shaken marauder pulled himself away from the Slytherin and tried to brush off the fall as if nothing had happened.

"Why are you following me?" Severus asked again, dutifully ignoring what had just happened. Neither boy was ready to consider the meanings behind it and both were just fine with pretending like it had never happened.

"I'm lost." Sirius admitted after a few moments. He clearly was not going to be able to salvage his pride. If proving that he needed help got him out of the woods and away from this strange, nicer Severus Snape than the one he knew at school, than it would be what he had to do.

If it had been any other day, Severus would have laughed and mocked the lost Gryffindor, but after his surprising act of kindness towards the boy, even if it had just been instinct, he felt suddenly uneasy and if helping the incompetent boy would get him out of the woods and far away from the surprisingly less obnoxious Sirius Black than the one he knew from school, than Severus would have to show him one more act of kindness and lead him out of the woods.

"Follow me." The two walked the rest of the time in silence as they did their best to ignore the other without making their situation that much more awkward that it already was.

As Sirius followed the Slytherin through the twists and turns of the woods, the thought that the boy could be betraying him never crossed his mind. Instead all he could think of was the short amount of physical contact the two had shared. Maybe it was because he had been living with James for so long and wasn't able to truly rid himself of the frustrating lust that came with living with the sexy Gryffindor seeker, but something about being touched, even pulled so roughly had struck something in Sirius, mostly his lower regions, but that was besides the point. While he tried to reason with himself that it was the physical contact that had suddenly aroused him and not the person that the contact had been with, Sirius then began to consider the physical stature of the other boy.

While it was true that Severus' frame was much smaller in comparison to James', there had to be some strength in him because Sirius could still feel where he had grabbed his arm, or maybe that was the lust talking, at this point anything was possible. But beyond that, Sirius began to notice smaller, less obvious things about the other boy. With the moon near full, Sirius was able to catch small glances of Severus whenever he was sure the other boy wasn't looking. While it was true that his nose was a bit off, instantly Sirius felt guilty for causing that, a feeling he could not remember feeling before, which in it of itself was troublesome, not to mention that he was currently weighing the attractive qualities of his school enemy, Sirius found something very striking about the well defined lines of his face. Shaking these thoughts aside, Sirius filed them in his mind under 'something to think about later' and returned his focus to the task at hand, trying to get out of the woods with some of his dignity in tact.

Severus could feel the Sirius watching him more than he could see him. This brought man interesting thoughts into the boys mind as he did his best to lead them through the fastest route back to Spinners End. He wondered what Sirius was thinking, wondered if he was thinking about their sudden, short moment of physical contact because, try as he might, Severus just couldn't take his mind off of that moment. Sure he was in love with Lily Evans, but with the end of Hogwarts looming over his head, and then knowing that James was visiting Lily alone, made Severus even more aware that his time to win over the girl was nearing an end. And to add to that matter, over the past year, Severus had began to notice that his preference for men seemed stronger for his preference for women. While Severus had always loved Lily, she was the only girl he had ever looked at. While he had once attributed this to being true love, Severus had begun to notice that he had a growing attraction for men.

At first Severus had thought it a fluke, one day he had seen one of the boys naked after quidditch practice in the showers. While this seemed normal, Severus was only a stand in and this was really the first time that he had been in the public showers, so he had never really experienced being surrounded by so many naked men. After that awkward experience, Severus resigned from the team, claiming that he was never all that good at the game anyways and that he would rather be in the dungeons, practicing potions. After that experience, however, he began to notice qualities in men that he found attractive more and more, to the point where he avoided the marauders in school strictly on the principal that both James and Sirius were easily the hottest men at Hogwarts, and that wasn't even secondary to Lucius Malfoy, because while he was undoubtably attractive, the man used too many hair products to be taken seriously. Shaking these thoughts aside, Severus filed them in his mind under 'something to never think about again except for those times when you can't help yourself' and returned his focus to the task at hand, trying to lead them out of the woods as fast as possible to escape from Sirius Black.

As the woods themselves began to thin and they were able to see lights from nearby houses in the near distance, they both visibly relaxed. By the time the two reached the end of Spinners End, Sirius knew enough of where he was to part from the Slytherin.

"Look uh, I just wanted to say, well really I just think that-" Sirius began to talk but the words seemed to be failing him.

"Don't mention it." Severus rolled his eyes as he started towards his own home, hoping to put Sirius and all thoughts surrounding the boy behind.

"Wait!" Cold black eyes met warm chocolate brown eyes as Severus looked at Sirius impatiently. "Thank you."

"I thought I said not to mention it." Severus asked his brow raised in a way that made Sirius reconsider if this dark figure before him was really _the_ Severus Snape from Hogwarts because there was no way that the bat of the dungeon just made his stomach flutter by the raise of a brow. That was completely impossible.

"I thought I already told you, I don't take orders from you." The cheeky comment granted a small smile from Severus before it instantly vanished.

"Goodbye Black." Severus offered in response before turning around, once again heading for his home.

"It's Sirius." He wasn't sure what had come over him, but no matter how he tried, Sirius couldn't get his traitorous mouth to stop moving. He should have just said goodbye, but no, he could never do things the easy way.

"I'm sorry?"

"My name is Sirius, I'm most likely going to be back here this summer. I live with James now and-" He let the rest of that thought trail before talking again. "Well I mean we will most likely meet again. And I just think-"

"_Sirius_." Severus smirked at the obvious nervousness in the other's voice. "Goodbye."

"Goodbye." This time he was able to tell his mouth what to say, just as long as Severus walked away now, he just might be able to salvage a bit of his pride and walk back to Lily's without trying to kill himself first. Mrs. Potter be damned, he would use magic if need be to rescue himself from the mess he had just created.

* * *

"Mate, where have you been?" James demanded as he and Lily looked down over a blushing and panting Sirius who stood at Lily's door.

"Sorry," Sirius managed to gasp, he had sprinted back to Lily's, and although he was in shape, he should have known not to push himself that hard. "I got lost in the woods." He sputtered, it was a white lie, but it would cover for him, the last thing he wanted was for his friend to ask questions.

"See James? I told you he could have been lost! We should have gone out to look for him!" Lily yelled and gently hit James on his shoulder with the edge of her palm.

"Ow! That really bloody hurt." James whined. By that point, Sirius was able to talk and breathe normally.

"You mean to say I was lost and you could have come and saved me? Thanks mate." Sirius whined obviously pretending.

"Well it's getting late, we should get going." James muttered giving his friend a guilty look. It was his way of saying sorry and Sirius knew it.

"Okay, then I'll see you tomorrow?" Lily asked as she started to usher James out.

_"Tomorrow?"_ Sirius asked pretending to be annoyed, but really he was feeling rather panicked, coming back would mean possibly running into Severus again before was ready to see the boy again.

"Maybe you should owl me." Lily said giving Sirius an odd look. He immediately felt like she knew that he was lying.

"Yeah, I will." James said with a sad smile. Sirius felt instantly guilty.

"Goodbye." Lily said as she gave Sirius another odd look.

"Bye." The boys chorused. James, for all of his oblivious nature, noticed Lily's strange look and gave her a half shrug. Something was on his friends mind and if Lily could picked up on it, it must be something important.

For all of his gayety and lighthearted jokes, Sirius was a very introverted person. Like any good pure blood Slytherin bound family; Sirius understood the advantages of wearing masks. Even James didn't know all of the things that went on in the Black family. Before Sirius ran away and moved in with the Potters permanently, he used to come to their door crying and asking if he could stay for a while. He never told them what exactly had happened and they never asked. It hurt a small part of James every time he saw Sirius upset. Sirius was like a brother to him and anyone who hurt him would have to pay.

The walk to the bus stop and the ride back was awkward for James, but Sirius was in a state of shock. Now that he was finally away from the Slytherin boy he was finally allowing himself to think about all these new feelings seeming in his head. Even though it was Severus that was causing his sudden burst of lust, Sirius found himself content. On one hand, it was a relieving feeling to know that getting over his crush over his best mate was even _possible_, but on the other hand, the fact that it was Severus, his rival for the past six years, who was helping dissolve that crush was bothersome.

But, as always, Sirius found a simple solution to his problem. As far as he was concerned, the person he had met in the woods wasn't Severus. The person he had met was attractive, something Sirius would **never** even **dare** think about the oily haired Slytherin. Yes that had to be it! Either Sirius had mistaken the mysterious boy for Snape or he had been dreaming, though the ladder did add a damper to his former elation. So it was settled the boy he had met had sounded, acted, had the same name as, and even looked (just a bit) like Severus Snape. **But he wasn't.**

And that's what one would call denial, at it's best.

James, on the other hand, was becoming more and more worried by the minute. He had been carefully watching Sirius' expressions during their short walk and bus ride. That in itself was unsettling. Not only had his best mate not noticed, but also he looked as if he had just been scared for his life before his expression quickly changed again to one that looked as if he had been kissed by the love of his life (and if James wasn't mistake, that was still him and James was pretty damn sure they hadn't kissed while Sirius was out in the woods and he had been with Lily.) At some point during the bus ride, Sirius' expression turned sour before it quickly turned into a look of triumph, then the boy sat back, eyes closed, with a smile on his face.

"He must be in deep thought," James thought to himself with a confused smile, "Sirius normally notices when someone it staring at him."

As if on cue, Sirius' eyes snapped open and both boys were facing each other. Sirius gave James a confused look and James looked panicked, as if what he had been doing was wrong. Before either boy could say a word, the bus stopped in front of the park.

"We'll talk later?" Sirius asked James, feeling slightly uneasy after realizing that James had just been staring at him the whole time he had been miserably losing his internal fight.

"Sure." James nodded his head. Both stood and got of the bus. "Sure." James repeated, more to himself, with a nervous smile.

Neither boy talked as they walked to the Potter house from the bus stop. The air was getting a bit nippy and they both buried their hands further into their pockets, both thinking their own private thoughts. The silence was comforting between the two, the first time it had been since the morning when they had been sitting in the park, neither knowing that they were about to have a day filled with events that would change their life. As they took the stairs up to the front door of the Potter home, they silently agreed not to breath a word of their adventures to Mrs. Potter. While they both loved their mother, because Sirius was pretty sure that if Mrs. Potter could not be considered his mother figure than he had no mother in life, they would have to solve whatever the strange air between the two was on their own with out her meddling nature.

"Suppose she'll be mad?" James muttered not sure if Sirius could even hear him seeing as the other boy seemed to be lost in his own world.

"When is she not?" Sirius asked startling Prongs into laughing lightly.

"I suppose that is the better question." James nodded while bravely pushing the door to their home open.

"Where have you been? I've been worried sick! I'll have you know-" Mrs. Potter started the minute they stepped foot into the hall to hang their summer cloaks. When she saw the serious look on both their faces however, she stopped. "What happened? Are either of you hurt? Did you hurt someone?" She started as Sirius stepped back, letting James take on the spotlight. Not even a playful smile passed between them.

"No, no one's hurt, mum. Sirius and I just need to talk." Both boys left the hall without another word, leaving the older witch stunned.

"I told you she would be mad." Sirius tried to joke while looking to James to see if the tension still existed between them.

"I should have known you would be right." James cracked a smile to show that if nothing else, James was not angry with him for his odd behavior.

"I think we scared her." Sirius said after a moments thought as they continued to climb the stairs to their room.

"And you would think with us living under the same roof, she wouldn't scare so easily." James add with a laugh, all feeling of tension leaving the two. Sirius returned his nonchalant attitude with a huge grin of his own.

"It's going to be okay." James thought to himself as Sirius. "It's going to be okay."

The thought wasn't enough to ease his worried mind. Something was eating at him, his sixth sense was telling him that something **huge** was going to happen, not necessarily something bad, just something very different that would completely re-work the way the world worked. And knowing that his best mate Padfoot was most likely at the center of it all only added to James' worried thoughts. Whatever was going on had his normally relaxed friend more nervous than he had ever seen before. This did not bode well for anyone.

James quickly pushed the nagging away, however, in favor for listening to what Sirius had to say about his strange behavior. Maybe, if he was lucky, his sixth sense was wrong. When it came to matters of Sirius James often found that he had no idea what was going on. Sometimes it seemed like Sirius had no care in the world and that he was very open with his thoughts and emotions, but at other times, James could see that the mask that he was taught to wear since he was a child was in place and those were the times that James found the most unnerving. it was then that he was reminded of how different he and Sirius were and how they were both brought up in the same world, but to fulfill different roles in society.

Again James pushed his thoughts to the back on his mind, noticing that the two had reached their room. With a sigh, James pushed the door open, not looking forward to this conversation, but realizing that in the end it would be better to know than to not know.

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

Summary: Severus/Sirius Marauders' summer before seventh year. James and Sirius got kicked out of James's house for the afternoon, AGAIN. In their boredom they pay a visit to their old pal Lily Evans. Sirius never expects to bump into Severus Snape on their trip and he really never expected to fall in love.

* * *

_Last Chapter_

_Again James pushed his thoughts to the back on his mind, noticing that the two had reached their room. With a sigh, James pushed the door open, not looking forward to this conversation, but realizing that in the end it would be better to know than to not know._

* * *

**Chapter Three**

James and Sirius walked into their room in silence. The Potter house was large. It was no manor, like that of the Malfoy family (the Potters hardly felt the need to own a house only to show it off), but it was still grand. James and Sirius, needless to say, didn't _have_ to share a room, but they _wanted_ to.

At first, it was mostly because Sirius hadn't the time to create a room of his own. Sirius's rash act of moving in had been rather rushed. His fighting with his parents had reached its peak, and the very second he turned seventeen, Sirius had made up his mind, he was going to move in with the Potters.

Of course at the time of his move Sirius had still been deeply and madly in love with James and it was only natural for him to want to be as close to James as possible. Seeing his friend so distraught and torn up over the constant fighting with his family James allowed Sirius to share a room with him in order to put Sirius as easy. At some point, the two just became so accustom to the other being there, it seemed absurd to even suggest that Sirius take to his own room.

And thus, Sirius and James found themselves sitting on their respective beds, facing one another.

"Listen, I'm really sorry-" James started as he gave Sirius a guilty look.

"No, really don't be sorry, I wasn't really upset, I was just joking, mate." Sirius reassured his friend. James relaxed instantly and began to let his mind wonder to thoughts of Lily and possibility of seeing her again. Now that he knew that Sirius honestly didn't mind, he allowed himself to get partially lost in his own thoughts.

"So does that mean that you'll let me go to Lily's?" James asked carefully making sure that he hadn't misunderstood his friend. It wouldn't do for him to get all excited about being able to see the girl of his dreams more regularly if it wasn't even possible. The calm look on Sirius' face gave James hope though and he waited for his response.

"I'm sure that could be arraigned." Sirius responded slowly as he thought about going back to Spinners End and what that would entail. He wasn't sure if he was ready for that yet, but for James' sake he would go back. It wouldn't due to hide from his own fears and anxieties.

"Are you sure?" James asked again wanting to make sure, Sirius' mood had shifted dramatically and it was really offsetting to watch.

"Yeah, I mean it's important for the two of you to be civil especially because you will be working so closely together. Also I was enjoying my exploration of the woods." Sirius wondered to himself if enjoyed was really the right word, but it was the closest to the right word that wouldn't raise James' suspicions so it would have to do.

"Is that where you really were? Lily figured you must have gotten really lost, but I figured that you had just lost track of time." James looked guilty when he realized that he had neglected to help his best mate when he was actually in need of it.

"I was a bit lost, but I found my way out." Sirius reassured him, _"with a little bit of help ."_ He thought to himself, doing his best to keep his face blank.

"You're doing it again, mate." James pulled Sirius out of his thoughts. "You're putting up your masks again. What's wrong?"

"I'm not sure, I'm just thinking. I was doing a lot of that in the woods and I guess I'm still trying to sort out my thoughts." Sirius made his tone sound final and hoped that James would just leave the topic alone.

"Okay then. Well are you sure you're not bothered by me going to Lily's? She really was kidding, you could come inside with me, you know."

"No thanks I think I can live without seeing the two of you be _cute_."

"Can you be honest, Sirius? Do you still like me?" The question threw Sirius off completely and he sat, frozen, as he tried to sort his thoughts.

"I'm not sure." Sirius answered truthfully as he tried to avoid looking him in the eyes.

Before Sirius was able to formulate more of a thought, he felt fingers curl themselves under his chin, bringing his face up so his chocolate brown eyes met James' cool blue. The next thing that happened shocked Sirius enough into complete silence. James pulled him closer, bringing their lips into a soft, tender kiss. When James pulled away, Sirius just stood dumbly, staring at James, not able to process any coherent thoughts.

"What was that?" Sirius finally asked when he remembered how to breath. His lips still felt warm and he licked them subconsciously, tasting James on them which only made him even more on edge.

"That was a kiss." James smiled calmly as he watched his friend slowly sit, eyes still bugging out of his head. "I take it you liked it."

"Mhm." Sirius nodded, not able to talk again as he tried to understand what had just happened.

"So?"

"So? So? You kiss me, out of the blue, even though you're straight and don't like me, knowing full well that I like you, and all you say is so?"

"Well yes, that was a test, I'm try to see if you passed." James stated with a small smile on his face.

"I'm sorry that I'm not finding this funny, but honestly what were you thinking?"

"Well I was thinking that after I kissed you, you would then proceed to jump on me and bugger me into the mattress. Which I wouldn't have let you get that far, but still. Instead I'm now thinking that while you are still attracted to me, which look and me, how could you not be," Sirius just glared harder then and James continued while chuckling, "Well honestly I'm confused as well. You said that you _liked_ me there, not _loved_. I don't doubt that you love me on some level, because I love you as a brother, but your subconscious instructed you to say _like_ and not _love_."

"Since when did this turn into psychologically analyzing me?" Sirius demanded, his mind still buzzing to catchup.

"When you didn't try to get into my pants." James laughed at the blush on Sirius' face and quickly brushed away the awkward air. "I'm just curious as to why now."

"I told you, I did a lot of thinking and-"

"Look, I know you. You like to hide things and, as much as it hurts, I understand. Everyone needs at least one thing that they don't tell anyone. So I'm going to let this go, I don't know what happened in the woods, but I do know that whatever happened has, either for better or worse, taken your romantic interest from me to somewhere else or someone else. Where you even thinking about me when we kissed?"

"I'm not sure I was thinking at all to be perfectly honest." Sirius admitted, this time allowing himself to relax and chuckle at bit at the whole situation. "But I supposed you are right. And I would tell you, Prongs, if something serious was going on, it's nothing like that, I really just need to sort out my thoughts."

"Fair enough." James stood and turned to survey the room, it seemed that his Mum had spelled the room to be a mess again while they were gone. "I think I'll just sort out this mess while you work on yours." James laughed at the affronted look he got from Sirius before turning to cleaning their room the muggle way.

"Are you suggesting that my mental state is a mess?"

"Exactly."

"You are one to talk, Potter."

"Oh and how do you figure?" James laughed as Sirius sat back in his own bed, too lazy to help James clean up their mess."

"Well you keep pining after the same girl like I pined over you. That puts us in the same boat, Mate."

"I suppose so." James stopped cleaning, his face dropping as he thought about all he had done to try to win Lily over.

"Shite, I'm sorry mate. I didn't mean it like that." Sirius stood up and wrap James in a tight hug. "I didn't mean it like that at all."

"Do you think I should give up too?" James whispered, his head falling on Sirius' shoulder as he silently cursed himself for his big mouth.

"No mate. And I didn't give up on you. I told you already I'm not sure how I feel."

"Well how does that work? How do you just fall out of love? I mean I just don't understand."

"I'm not sure I understand either but I was doing a lot of thinking while I was lost in the woods. And I was thinking, maybe, my love for you was that of one brother to another. I've never known the love of family. Maybe, I was just confused. I'm sure, at one point, I did love you in a romantic way. But, somewhere along the line, it changed. I still love you, how could I not? But, I think, I was in love with being in love, for a while there."

"So are you saying that in order to fall out of love with Lily I have to think of her as a sister?" James asked laughing slightly as he pulled away from Sirius to look his best Mate in the eye.

"No, but I'm sure that will work." Sirius laughed as well his sounding more like a bark.

"I'm trying to be serious here-"

"Well you're not doing a good job. I mean first of all you're not nearly as sexy as I am-" Sirius joked and the light air returned to the room as the boys easily switched from being serious, no pun intended, and being light-hearted and jovial.

"You think that I'm pretty sexy." James joked as his eyebrows waggled, swatting Sirius away as the other boy tried to plant a huge, wet kiss on his lips.

"That is true, but then again how could I not? I'm just saying that I'm more sexy than you are."

"You are full of yourself, that's what you are."

While two continued to clean, the tension in the room completely subsided and put both boys at ease. Now that he was able to think without James analyzing his every facial expression, which Sirius found rather disturbing and honestly made him feel a bit naked, metaphorically of course, Sirius thought back to their kiss. What had he been thinking at the time?

Of course at first he had been thinking about James. How could he not? He had been dreaming about kissing those lips for most of his life! But then as he realized what was happening, he started to think not of James, but of a certain dark-haired Slytherin that he had met in the woods. Was that wrong? Was it wrong to be kissing someone you thought you loved, who happened to be your best friend, while thinking about your school enemy, who really wasn't much of an enemy but more of an annoyance and easy target, all while trying to figure out why a straight man is kissing you?

What was so wrong about that?

If there was one things that Sirius did know it was that the only way his questions would get answered would be by visiting the woods again. Part of him really hoped that it was a dream, or that the person he'd met really wasn't Snape, but he knew it wasn't, that he really was starting to crush on the boy. Surprisingly it was a thought that he found himself more conformable than he would have thought. Inwardly sighing, Sirius put all of his conflicted thoughts to the back of his mind, focusing on cleaning his side of the room.

The two were able to work in silence for some time. They actually cleaned the room without magic, knowing that if they even so much as tried Mrs. Potter would be back and be less than pleased. When the matriarch came up to check on them, she found the room nearly clean, both boys looking much calmer then they had when they had first come home. Whatever had been bothering her boys had been worked out and she was glad for that. She loved Sirius like a son and was always worried about him especially, considering how his family had treated him and that he was forced to run from home. She trusted that if either of them were in any real trouble that they would tell her, but for now she was content with the idea that they had been able to work out whatever problems they might have faced. Closing the door quietly she retreated back to her own room, believing on good faith that her home would remain quiet at least for the rest of the night.

By the time the boys were done cleaning they were both too exhausted to do much else but lay in their respective beds. James fell asleep right away and Sirius had ever intent on following, but something was still nagging at his mind. He had really had a good time today, despite getting lost, fighting with Snape, and then the awkward encounter with James. He was starting to have reason to hope again and he couldn't be happier. He could only hope that the next day would be just as goo. "_Or maybe tomorrow will be better._" He fell asleep with a smile on his face, willing the next day, and the summer for that matter, to be just as good as his day had been.

* * *

The next morning found James and Sirius once again boarding the muggle bus to Spinner's End just as they had done the day before. Unlike the day before however, both boys were lively and at ease. Much like the nerves of a first date seem far less on a second date, both boys were able to relax and enjoy the other's company. Neither mentioned the strange way Sirius had been acting when he had left the woods, nor the short kiss they had shared in James' room. It was like whatever tension that had existed between them had never actually been there.

The walk from the bus stop to Lily's house seemed to bring the nerves out of James. Sirius noticed the slight shake to his voice or the way his eyes kept darting up to Lily's house and back down to the pavement again. When they finally stopped in front of her house, they stopped and Sirius made James face him.

"Look mate, remember what I told you last night, go for your dreams." Sirius tried to bring a smile to James' face, but to no avail.

"I just don't know if I can do this, face her I mean."

"Of course you can! You're a marauder! We can do anything we set our minds to!"

"You're right, Padfoot." James gave his best mate a half smile to prove that he was going to be alright.

"Well of course I am! When am I ever wrong?" The cheek response was enough to bring a full smile to James' lips.

"And modest, you are always ever so modest."

"You know me too well!" Sirius brought his hand to his heart jokingly. "So I'll meet you back here in, say three hours?"

"You know Mate, I'm sure Lily wouldn't mind if you tagged along." James looked guilty again.

"I already told you that I don't want to be around you two love birds." James jokingly took a swat at his head, but Sirius ducked effortlessly. "Besides I'm really enjoying exploring the woods."

"Alright, but be back in three hours or we're going to start searching for you." James meant it too, Sirius knew that James would never forgive himself if anything happened to him.

"Yes, Mum." Sirius responded, smiling to lighten the mood. James still looked like he wasn't sure about Sirius going off alone, but Sirius only smiled back, winking at him as he turned and walked out towards the tree line.

Walking into the woods, it occurred to Sirius that he didn't even know if Severus was going to show up again. He hadn't actually made any effort the day before figure out how he would find the boy again. He had only mentioned that he would return, not what day or what time, just that he would return. Cursing his own stupidity, Sirius continued to walk until he stopped at a clearing. He was stunned when he found the object of his thoughts sitting in the middle of the clearing with his back against a tree, drawing on a large pad of paper.

"Are you going to stand there and watch me all day, _Sirius_, or are you going to join me?" The silky smooth words sent shivers up Sirius' spine and his stomach did flips over the way his name sounded from Severus's mouth.

Without responding, Sirius walked further into the clearing, stopping to stand next to Severus. He looked down at the large drawing pad and was surprised to see a landscape sketch of the woods. It was actually very good. He was surprised that Severus was even allowing him to look at something that seemed so private.

Severus stopped sketching and looked up at Sirius with an unreadable expression. "There is a lot you don't know about me, _Sirius_."

"Well then I would like to start learning, _Severus_." Sirius responded back, very much aware that he was being flirted with, even if it was in Severus's on strange way. He found that he rather liked it and moved to sit next to the boy.

Severus, for his part, wasn't really sure what he was doing. He couldn't fathom why Sirius would want to know more about him, but he found that he was rather happy at the thought. Maybe the summer wouldn't be so bad after all. He continued to sketch the scenery and Sirius watched, silently. Hours passed and they barely spoke, letting the silence speak for them. It was peaceful and neither boy really wanted to destroy what little peace they could share.

It wasn't until Sirius heard the sounds of Lily and James calling for him that he realized just how late it was. "Shit." Was all time Sirius had to say. Severus was up in an instant, gathering his things and dashing off into the woods leaving and stunned Sirius in his wake.

"Sirius! Where are you?" James called again, he was more than panicked. Sirius was supposed to meet him at Lily's over an hour again and he had gotten no word from his best mate.

"Right here! Sorry I lost track of time again!" Sirius called from the clearing when he was sure that Severus was far enough away that they wouldn't see him. He wasn't sure why, but he wanted to keep their brief encounters a secret, even from Lily, until he was sure of what exactly they were.

"You scared me, Mate." James came into view as he stepped into the clearing, Lily right behind him. As the two surveyed Sirius to insure that he was okay they noticed a piece of paper next to him that Sirius hadn't seen.

"What's that beside you?" Lily asked and Sirius looked down to see the sketch beside him. Quickly he rolled it up and put it into his pocket. He wasn't sure, but he thought it was a sketch of himself, but he put the thought aside. He would have time to examine it later.

"Nothing. Look I'm sorry to make you worry, but we should go, Mum is expecting us home." Sirius brushed James and Lily's curious glances aside and started to make his way of the woods. No, he would have to deal with the sketch later, right now he would have to convince James that he was in fact okay.

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

Summary: Severus/Sirius Marauders' summer before seventh year. James and Sirius got kicked out of James's house for the afternoon, AGAIN. In their boredom they pay a visit to their old pal Lily Evans. Sirius never expects to bump into Severus Severus on their trip and he really never expected to fall in love.

* * *

_Last Chapter_

_"What's that beside you?" Lily asked and Sirius looked down to see the sketch beside him. Quickly he rolled it up and put it into his pocket. He wasn't sure, but he thought it was a sketch of himself, but he put the thought aside. He would have time to examine it later._

_"Nothing. Look I'm sorry to make you worry, but we should go, Mum is expecting us home." Sirius brushed James and Lily's curious glances aside and started to make his way of the woods. No, he would have to deal with the sketch later, right now he would have to convince James that he was in fact okay._

* * *

**Chapter Four**

Sirius sat alone in the library of the Potter home. He had finally convinced James that he wold be okay and that he just needed to be alone. He was sure that soon James would no longer listen to him. He almost never requested time away from his best friend and he knew that he was really starting to worry him. He also knew, however, that he would not be able to properly study the sketch with James hovering over him. He could have waited for James to fall asleep first, but he just couldn't wait that long, the curiosity would kill him. Making sure that he really was alone, Sirius carefully unrolled the paper, shocked at what he was looking at.

It was clear the the sketch itself had been spelled to play out a scene. It looked like it took place near the Great Lake at Hogwarts. The more Sirius focused on it, the more he realized he knew exactly what scene this was. There was no mistaking that the group in the scene was the Marauders. It was clear that the person James was hanging by his foot was Severus. Sirius knew this scene well, it had just happened, the last week before they left for summer holiday. Unlike what had really happened, however, the drawing of Sirius broke away from the group, he moved toward Severus, breaking the spell and easily catching Severus before he fell to the ground. There was no sound, but it was very obvious that drawing Sirius was telling James off, allowing Severus to get back down onto his feet. The scene stopped there and started up again.

Rolling the picture back up again, Sirius sat in silence, processing the information that he had just gained. It was very clear that Severus liked him on some level. He obviously fantasized about his torment coming to an end by means of Sirius. It was also really clear that in the picture, Sirius held onto Severus longer than he had needed too, cradling his body close to his own, protecting him. Why did Sirius find the thought of holding Severus close appealing? More importantly, why did he allow James to torture him like that in the first place, sure he could admit that he made fun of Severus and rather enjoyed it most days, but he had never wanted to actually hurt the boy. He knew that if anything did happen between him and Severus he would need to talk to James and that was a conversation he was dreading.

* * *

"Lily said that she wanted to come over here tomorrow, her parents are having a dinner party and she doesn't want to have to be there." James said as he lay in bed that night, turning on his side to face Sirius.

"Okay, well I got a letter from Gringotts earlier, my mother cut me out of the family funds, so I have to go set up a vault for myself." Sirius lied knowing that he had already set up is own vault before coming to live with the Potters. He still had the paperwork so he could make it look like he had gone down to Gringotts, but go and visit Severus instead.

"Oh, well I was going to suggest that the three of us spend time together, but you probably have to see to your vault right away-" James trailed off sounding sad and instantly Sirius felt bad, he was already putting Severus before James, would his best mate understand when he found out? Did Sirius really care if did or didn't?

"Sorry mate, but I don't think I can put it off, you know how nasty the goblins are, they just might liquidate the only funds that I have to spite me.

"That's true, oh well, she should be over for a while, so we could always spend time together when you get back."

"Yeah, sounds good." Sirius hoped that he wouldn't have to see Lily, it wasn't that he didn't like her, he just didn't want to have to deal with James when he was around her. "I just hope that sorting out everything wont be too complicated." James made a noise in agreement before falling asleep, while he knew that James had no idea what he was talking about, Sirius found comfort in knowing that James also wanted him to sort out all the complications in his mind.

* * *

Severus knew he had dropped the sketch. In fact he had done it on purpose, hoping that Sirius would take it and begin to think about what could have happened if he had stepped in. It wasn't that Severus needed anyone to save him or protect him, had he wanted to, he could have stood up for himself, though he knew that would only make his torment worse, but in the end he just wanted someone to see the pain that he was going through and to just help him. Did that make him weak? His father would say so, but he would like to think that his mother wouldn't have, that she would have told him that it was only natural to want to lean on another human being for strength. He really missed his mother.

Severus made sure to watch Lily, James, and Sirius leave before returning to his clearing, sketching until he heard a noise in the distance again.

"Severus, I know you were with Sirius earlier." Lily's voice didn't surprise Severus, when they had been children the clearing had been a good place to run from their parents and have fun living in their own world until sun down.

"I trust you didn't tell Potter." It wasn't a question. Lily sat beside Severus, pulling his attention from his sketch. She wrapped her arm around his, leaning on him like she used to when they were children.

"Of course I didn't." She sounded hurt, Severus should have known better than to doubt her. "What are you doing with him, Severus? I'm assuming he saw you yesterday, there is no way the two of you would be so calm together with out fighting first."

"We ran into each other yesterday." Severus ignored her first question, not knowing how to answer it.

"Severus, don't ignore my questions." The Slytherin sighed, he knew better than to try to avoid answering Lily. Many times she reminded him of the mother figure that left him long ago. Sometimes he wondered if he had ever loved her romantically or if she had always been like a mother to him, the sister he always wished he'd had.

"I don't know what I'm doing." It took a lot for Severus to admit that he wasn't in control and Lily knew that all too well.

"And that's okay, but why? I don't want to see you hurt again." Severus almost wanted to curse her for how well she knew him, but he held his tongue. Lily was one of the only friends he had and he couldn't push her away just because he had pride issues.

"I like him, okay?" Severus nearly shouted, felling exposed and frustrated. He half expected Lily to jump back, but she just held onto his arm tighter.

"Okay, well I just don't want to see you hurt." Lily allowed the silence to overtake them in order to calm him. When she was sure that he wouldn't run off and do something stupid, she disentangled herself from him, kissing him gently on the cheek. "Just be careful, Sev." Nodding, Severus watched his best friend walk out of the clearing and back through the woods to their neighborhood. The sun was starting to set, he knew that he ought to follow, but first he had a lot to think about.

* * *

True to her word, Lily arrived to the Potter house around noon the following day. Sirius made his excuses to leave, citing his meeting at Gringotts and while James seemed to be none the wiser, Lily gave him an odd look as if she didn't believe him. He always knew that Lily was smart, but now he was thinking that maybe she was too smart for her own good.

"Well I don't want to get in your way, behave you two." Sirius joked as he made his way to the door.

"Sirius." Lily spoke, surprising both of the boys. "Be careful."

All three were silent for a moment, an awkward air hanging around them. James didn't have the slightest idea what was happening between his best mate and his crush, but they seemed to know something that he didn't. Lily's eyes were trained on Sirius'. She knew, she wanted him to know that she knew. Sirius just didn't know what she meant by _be careful_. Was she warning him that Severus could hurt him or was she warning him not to hurt Severus?

"I will." Sirius left after that, not looking behind him.

Sirius spent his bus ride deep in thought once again. Lily knew, that much was obvious, but what did she know about? What was there to know, exactly? Nothing had really happened, right? Sirius wasn't sure what to call the tenuous relationship that he had with the Slytherin. He hesitated to call it a friendship, they had only met twice and spent most of their first time alone together fighting. But he couldn't call it being mere acquaintances. Severus was a very private person, he wouldn't have let Sirius sit with him, lean on him really, while he was sketching if he didn't want him to. So that left friendship, even though it sounded weird, even to himself.

Sirius began to mull over the meaning of the Slytherin's behavior toward him when he reached his stop. Slowly he made his way to the woods without much hurry, he didn't really know what he would find today and he didn't know what he wanted to find. It was because he was deep in thought that he didn't see the object of his obsessive thoughts walking toward him.

"Not looking where you're going, _Sirius_, how typical." The silky smooth voice made Sirius stop in his tracks. His heart nearly stopped when he came face to face with Severus. There was nothing remarkably different in his appearance, but the subtle, almost soft smile that was present on his face was enough for Sirius to make a double take.

"I suppose I am a bit careless." Sirius laughed and smiled easily, surprised at how easy it was for him to warm up around Severus. The other boy also seemed surprised by the ease that they felt around each other and even smiled a little wider, finding the good nature contagious. "Where are we going today?" Sirius asked looking towards the woods and then back at Severus. The other boy looked uncomfortable all of a sudden, like he wasn't sure what to do in that situation. "That is if you want to do something together today." Sirius back tracked quickly, hoping that he hadn't messed everything up.

"My- my father is out for the day, if you- if you want to-" Severus began to stutter, feeling stupid and beginning to get angry at himself and even at Sirius for making him feel that way.

"_I would love to_." Sirius cuts in, trying to flirt again hoping that it would bring Severus' focus back on him and to calm him.

"It's this way," Severus responded quickly, hoping to calm his nerves enough before speaking again. Sirius followed after him, noticing that the house he was being led to was directly next to Lily's. He chose to ignore the implications of him being alone with Severus in a home for a long period of time. He over analyzed everything of recent date, he didn't want to be doing that now.

Severus let Sirius into his house. The first thing that Sirius noticed was that the first room, obviously a library and living room of sorts, was very stuffy, the heavy drapes weren't drawn and there was only the light of a single candle to guide their way. Severus was walking fast and Sirius rushed to catch up, taking no head to the kitchen as they passed through to the small room in the back of the house. The room itself wasn't much to speak of. It was small, no bigger than a pantry. The only furniture was a worn out cot that looked like it had seen better days.

"This is my room." Severus spoke quietly. He looked to Sirius hesitantly, waiting for the boy to make fun of him. Sirius was more than a little surprised by the conditions that Severus slept in, but he was even more surprised at just how much the boy was willing to reveal about himself to someone he would have just as easily cured a week ago.

"Why are your sketches not up on the walls?" Sirius asked, turning around to examine the plain gray walls. "I think they're brilliant and you should show them off."

"My father wouldn't approve." Severus answered, watching the other boy carefully.

"My mother was always the one that kept my brother and I under a tight leash, well maybe just me." Sirius laughed at the thought, though it sounded hollow to Severus' ears. "I'm sure she was more than pleased the day I left for the Potter's."

"It's always about how great the Potter's are." Severus grumbled bring a scowl to Sirius' face.

"They're good people, James might be a right arse at times, but his family took me in. I don't care what you think of them, just don't share your opinions with me." Sirius did his best to keep his voice even, but the tension in the air was thick.

"You know how much of a bastard Potter is and still you defend him? Why? I would have thought you were better than that." Severus jumped back into old habits, though admittedly it had never been just the two of them fighting, normally James would be there, either having started the fight or supporting it. Even though he wasn't physically there, Sirius found it a wonder that he was still the cause of the bitter animosity between himself and Severus.

"Maybe I have my reasons." Sirius growled much like the dog that he could so easily transform into.

"Oh, do tell. I can't imagine what drives you to protect that completely incompetent-"

"You're just jealous because of Lily." Sirius instantly regretted bring up the girl when he saw the look that crossed the boys face.

"I knew her first! I was her first friend who was a wizard! I taught her what she was, what she could be! I protected her from her family! I gave her everything and he thinks that he can just belittle me and push me aside!" Severus started to scream and instead of screaming back, Sirius felt that he finally began to understand the boy.

"She protects you from your father, doesn't she?" Even though it was posed as a question, Sirius already had his answer. "James does the same for me." Sirius pushed on, talking too fast for Severus to cut in, hoping that he would just stop and listen. "I can't say that I believe in everything that James does, hell I agree that he's a right arse when he wants to be, but that doesn't change the fact that he saved me from my family, I owe him more than I could ever repay in this lifetime, that's why I stand by him. Just like you stand by Lily for the same reasons."

"I still don't understand how you put up with him." Severus mumbled though he had calmed down considerably. Severus sat back on the cot and Sirius joined him, the peace they held onto seemed to return and Sirius watched the Slytherin closely.

"I'm going to tell you something, I don't expect you to tell me anything in return, but I don't know, anyways. I'm gay."

"If you're coming on to me-" Severus started and looked rather panicked, but Sirius only chuckled and continued to speak.

"No, no let me finish." He almost laughed at the scowl on the the Slytherin's face, but continued on. "As I was saying, I'm gay, I found out when I realized that I was in love with my best friend, when I realized I was in love with James."

"Oh." Was all Severus could say. While a part of him was curious as to where Sirius was going with his speech, he found that a greater part of him was actually disappointed that Sirius wasn't coming on to him. It was that part that really scared him.

"I told him that I loved him-"

"And what did he do? Laugh in your face? Did he tell you that he couldn't possibly like you because you were too different? Did he use your heritage and your connections with the dark arts as an excuse? Did he?" Severus couldn't contain his loathing toward Potter knowing that Sirius loved him, not when he liked him, because that's all he was allowing his mind to categorize it at the moment. He couldn't imagine losing some else to the arrogant prick.

"No, he was pretty good about it. He told me that he was flattered, but that he was straight. He has never treated me different for it, which I have always been glad for, but I think over time I realized that I was more in love with the idea of being in love than with him."

"Why are you telling me this?" It was relieving knowing that the object of his current fascination no longer loved his greatest school rival, but that still didn't change the fact that he had no idea why he was being told this.

"You opened up to me and showed me two very personal things, your sketches and your home, I wanted to return the favor."

"Thank you."

Sirius just smiled, leaning back against the foot of the cot to get a better look Severus. It struck him as odd that the boy seemed the least at home in his actual home. He wasn't too surprised at the condition of his room, Severus never was the best dressed in school, he didn't seem to keep up to the standards of the rest of his fellow pureblood schoolmates, which was one of the reasons why James always picked on him. But here, in the stuffy, old closet of a room, Sirius wanted to really take the time to _see_ the boy for everything that he was.

The first thing he noticed was that his nose really wasn't all that crocked, he knew he had partially caused the break and now he felt rather terribly, from there he focused on his face the way his lips curved and how his hair really wasn't as greasy as they had always ridiculed him for. His eyes traveled lower, to his neck and his shoulders, slight almost like a woman's, but they looked strong. His chest was flat and his torso thin, Sirius wondered whether or not he was built beneath the baggy clothes that he wore.

Severus was no fool and he knew that Sirius was opening checking him out. At first he felt self conscious, but the lust evident in the other boy's eyes was enough to make him reconsider covering up. While Sirius was distracted he took the time to examine him as well. He had always know that Sirius was attractive, even before he had realized he was bisexual he understood why most women and even some men at Hogwarts preferred Sirius over James. He had a strong build, arms that looked like they could protect you from any danger, and a smile that could disarm even the most strict of professors. It had been his undeniable physical attraction to Sirius that had made him realize he was bisexual in the first place and after spending time with him it was hard not to see that he also liked him on another level.

Before Sirius knew what he was doing, he found himself leaning in, his legs spread straddling Severus. He paused long enough for the boy to push him away and when he was sure he wouldn't, he leaned down hands braced on either side of Severus and kissed him.

It wasn't Severus' first kiss. He had kissed a few girls in school, though it never went farther. He had even convinced Lucius Malfoy to experiment with him once, they were best friends of course, and that had gone much farther than with any of the girls, but it hadn't been anything like this kiss. He wondered briefly it it was pure experience that allowed Sirius to push with just the right amount of pressure, to know just how and when to nip his lower lip to pull a throaty moan from his lips. But soon Severus lost himself in the kiss, leaving his thoughts behind. At first Sirius was very clearly dominant, mostly because Severus was still in a bit of shock, but once he melted into the kiss fully, Severus easily took control, winding his arms around the marauder and swiftly flipping them so he was on top. Their heated kiss turned quickly into hands roaming anywhere that they could find, Sirius wasn't sure how his hand had made it under Severus' shirt and how the boy in question had found his hands playing with the buttons of his pants, but he surely wasn't complaining.

Severus was trying his best to undo the button on Sirius' pants, but the skilled hands massaging his stomach and tracing patterns lightly on his back where nearly driving him wild and he couldn't concentrate enough on the task of getting the other boy's pants off. The outside world was completely gone to the two and they were wrapped up in each other.

"Boy, where the hell are you?" A loud voice from the front of the house made the world come crashing down around the two teens again as they nearly flew apart from each other.

"Bloody hell, that's my father, quickly." Severus pushed Sirius off of his bed and out of the room to the kitchen where the back door lead out to the yard. "Wait out there until he's fully in the house then slip out to the front."

Sirius was too panicked to properly respond and instead ran from the room just before he heard Mr. Snape barge into the kitchen. When he was sure that the man was paying more attention to his son than to the windows, Sirius made a run for the street, looking back in time to see Severus' terrified face through the partially drawn drapes. Sirius wanted to help Severus more, to take him from his father, but he wasn't sure what to do, he had just kissed the boy and while he was a willing participant at the time, he might just regret it now that reality had struck. Also he wasn't sure if going back would only make things worse on Severus so he made his way back to the Potter's, vowing to speak to Lily the second he saw her to straighten this whole mess.

Still inside, Severus was left to deal with his father's outrage, wondering whether or Sirius would come back to help him, or if he would just be left alone again, like he had been most of is life. _Please, Sirius, come back._

TBC


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

Summary: Severus/Sirius Marauders' summer before seventh year. James and Sirius got kicked out of James's house for the afternoon, AGAIN. In their boredom they pay a visit to their old pal Lily Evans. Sirius never expects to bump into Severus Severus on their trip and he really never expected to fall in love.

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_Last Chapter_

_Sirius was too panicked to properly respond and instead ran from the room just before he heard Mr. Snape barge into the kitchen. When he was sure that the man was paying more attention to his son than to the windows, Sirius made a run for the street, looking back in time to see Severus' terrified face through the partially drawn drapes. Sirius wanted to help Severus more, to take him from his father, but he wasn't sure what to do, he had just kissed the boy and while he was a willing participant at the time, he might just regret it now that reality had struck. Also he wasn't sure if going back would only make things worse on Severus so he made his way back to the Potter's, vowing to speak to Lily the second he saw her to straighten this whole mess._

_Still inside, Severus was left to deal with his father's outrage, wondering whether or Sirius would come back to help him, or if he would just be left alone again, like he had been most of is life. __**Please, Sirius, come back.**_

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**Chapter Five**

Blood was pumping through Sirius' veins so fast he was a bit surprised he even made it back to the Potter house without bursting a vain or two. Stopping long enough to catch his breath, Sirius unlocked the door and called out to the only person who could help.

"Lily!" Sirius screamed. Both James and Lily ran to the door hearing the urgency in his voice. "Severus needs help. His father-" Lily didn't give him enough time to finish his sentence, instead she took James and Sirius by the hands and nearly dragged them out the door. James barely had enough time to lock it before racing after the two frantic teens.

He tried to get one of them to tell him what was happening as calmly as he could, but when both refused to respond he began to get agitated. He almost didn't notice that they were taking the same number bus that they would normally take to Lily's, but he pushed the thought aside, he had a sinking feeling that he knew what that meant, but he didn't want to address it until he got answers.

"What the bloody hell is going on?" James demanded once they took their seats on the bus. He had gotten over his initial shock and he wasn't going to let Lily and Sirius ignore him any longer. He felt that he deserved answers before running to aid someone who was supposed to me their enemy."Why are we running to Snape's aid? And since when are you on first name bases with him?"

"Now is not the time." Lily scolded her gaze fell on Sirius again. James was more than hurt at her response, but the real betrayal happened when Sirius also completely ignored him in favor of answering Lily's next question."What happened?"

"I'm not really sure, one minute we were sitting in his room talking and the next that bastard returned and Severus was pushing me out the back door."

James realized then that Sirius had been lying to him the whole time. Was this the reason why Sirius didn't love him in a romantic way anymore? Could it be possible that he had somehow met up with the Slytherin with James knowing and then befriend him? Where they more than that? James' head was spinning with all of the thoughts he could barely contain that he didn't hear much of the rest of the conversation.

"It's far too early in the afternoon for him to be coming home." Lily remarked thoughtfully. "Well that's not good."

"Why would he come home so early? Severus made it sound like he pretty much kept to a strict schedule."

"I don't know, that's what worries me." Lily looked slightly frightened and Sirius took her hand in his and squeezed it to reassure her even though he didn't feel confident in the least himself.

Much of the rest of the of the trip was bathed in silence with Lily looking determined, Sirius looking worried and James flitting between confusion an anger. He had no idea what was going on, at least not more than what he wouldn't admit to himself, and he expected an explanation of some sort but neither of his companions seemed willing to share. His anger only grew when they got off the bus at Lily's stop and started toward her house.

"Someone better tell me what's going on this instant!" James demanded, but they continued to keep silent, walking past Lily's house and up the drive of the one right next to it. "You never told me he lived next to you! Why didn't I know-"

"Now is really not the time, mate." Sirius spoke to him for the first time since he banged down James' door. The words only furthered James' anger. He trusted Sirius to be his best mate and this seemed to be the only and biggest secret he was keeping from him since he had told him that he was gay and liked him as more than a friend.

"Why not? I want answers!" James demanded, but it fell on deft ears. An inhuman scream rang through the street, the origin from the very house they were walking up to.

Lily and Sirius took off at a run and James was only a few steps behind. The scene that welcomed them made even James' blood run cold. Severus was on the floor, blood running from his obviously broken nose. Both his eyes were sporting lovely bruises, his arms wrapped around his midsection is a way that clearly spoke of Tobias Snape kicking his son multiple times. When the three teens entered it was just in time to see stray magic attack Tobias again and he screamed just as he had moments before, this time his anger focused on the three unwelcome guests. Without thought, Lily had the man at wand point and Sirius ran to Severus' side.

"You can't use that freak thing here, you'll get I trouble with your world." The statement held a venom that spoke volumes about what Tobias felt of magic.

"That may be true, but I can still report you to the muggle authorities." Lily sneered, a look that would have done even Malfoy proud. Her normally shinning green eyes had darkened considerably. The uncheck furry in her eyes was enough to make Tobias falter, but not enough for him to actually fear her.

"You have no proof, you idiot girl." The smug look on his face only made Lily angrier and she made to hex him, but James' strong hand on her arm stopped her. Tobias, seeing the action, laughed coldly at the obvious struggle going on in Lily's mind. James growled at the man, but kept his own wand in its holster, if he grew it he couldn't guarantee that he wouldn't use it on the sorry excuse for a man. While they kept the man occupied, Sirius made sure to care for Severus.

"Are you alright? Can you stand." Sirius asked, slipping his arm under the smaller boy to pull him closer. I any other situation, Severus would have refused help but he knew he was too hurt to move, and a small part of him just didn't want Sirius to let go, so he shook his head and allowed the boy to pick him up and hold him close to his chest. Just as he began to stand with Severus in his arms, he noticed James steadying Lily, keeping her from losing control of her magic.

"Come on, Lily, he's not worth it." Sirius started to make is way past the man when his cold eyes fell on them.

"And you think that filthy excuse for a son is? Or is it that you fancy him? Not good enough to just be a freak, but you have to go and be a fag too."

"He's a better man than you'll ever be." Sirius bit back, choosing to ignore the attack on their sexuality, he really didn't believe the man was worth it.

"How sweet that you found another freak to make you feel better, but you will always be a good for nothing-" Tobias didn't get to finish his sentence, the glare that Sirius was leveling him with shut him up quickly.

"Don't you even dare." Sirius started to move to the door, glaring at the man who tried to stop him. The raw magic crackling in Sirius' black eyes was enough to scare Tobias and he mutely moved aside to let them pass. He might not know just what Sirius was capable of, but he decided that it wasn't smart to test the obviously enraged teen. He eyed them with hatred in his eyes, but he did nothing to stop them.

"Wait, my sketch books." Severus looked franticly to his closet of a room. It was the first words that Lily and James heard him speak and the hoarseness of his voice made it clear that he had been screaming before they had arrived. Instantly James felt guilty that he might have slowed them down to getting there sooner with his questions and tantrum.

"I've got them." Lily motioned for them to go, her wand still pointing at the man, pure hatred clear in her eyes, though she was able to gain control of her magic and temper, Severus needed her and she couldn't help him and lose her cool. She would have to put her own emotions and anger aside to care for him first.

James took Lily's place while she ran to fetch what little things Severus owned. He might not know that was going on entirely, but it was clear that Severus had a less than idea home life and while he certainly didn't like the boy anymore than he had the day before, he would never wish the obvious mistreatment on anyone. He watched as Sirius brought the boy outside and Lily went for his things.

"Don't you dare come after us or I won't hesitate to hurt you. I don't care about what consequences I might face because every wizard or witch worth the magic they wield would rather bring justice to a child hurt than to a child defending him. Tobias only glared back but continued to stay where he stood, making no move to stop or follow them.

"All set." Lily shot one last glare at the cowering man before exiting the house, James not far behind, his wand aimed at him until he too was out the door.

"We should go back to your house, I wouldn't put it past him to storm into mine and my parents aren't home yet, I'm sure they could get the police involved, but they certainly wouldn't listen to me."

"And why not?" James smirked trying to ease the tension.

"You didn't think that you where the only one to get into trouble, did you? I just do it on my own time and not at school." Lily teased. Her laughter died on her lips when her eyes landed on Severus, however.

Sirius was kneeling in the grass, speaking softly to the boy. From where they stood, James and Lily felt like thy were interrupting a particularly intimate moment. As they approached the duo they both noticed that Sirius was rubbing comforting circles on Severus' back. Lily and James silently decided to leave it alone for the time being, they had more important things to worry about. Lily cleared her throat to make their presence known. "James and I were just saying how we should go back to the Potter's. It will be safe there at leas until we figure out what's going to happen." Both Lily and James were surprised when Severus agreed without a fight. Sirius gave then both worried looks before picking the boy up again and starting for the bus stop.

"It's going to be okay." Sirius whispered to Severus, not liking how his eyes would flutter closed as if he couldn't keep them open. "Try to stay awake, okay?" Lily and James followed close behind, hands held to give comfort to the other.

When they arrived at the Potter's Sirius took Severus straight up to his and James' bedroom, placing him on his bed while Lily went for a basin of water and cloth an James sought out his mother who knew a whole arsenal of healing magic.

"Sev, come on wake up, I don't know if you have a concussion." Sirius did his best to make the boy comfortable, but that also risked allowing him to fall asleep easier. "Come on, don't fall asleep on me."

"So cold." Severus complained and instantly Sirius was sitting with him, arms wrapped around his smaller body. That was how Lily found them when she returned with the water and rag. if it had been any other situation she would have found it cute. Sirius, resident bad boy and play of Hogwarts, cuddling with Severus, resident grumpy recluse. But then it just looked so very sad, Severus had never looked smaller to her before and Sirius never so grave.

"Oh good, Lils." Sirius tried a half smile as he stood to held her. Severus made a small whining noise when Sirius left him, but he was back by his side almost instantly, washing his face and neck of all the dried blood. "Sh, it's alright."

"What have you boys done this time?" Mrs. Potter asked as she bustled into the room wand in one hand and various potions in the other. She took one look at Severus and gasped.

"We didn't do anything, Mum." James followed behind her, also surprised at the amount of blood there was. He hadn't gotten a real good look at Severus until then and he was glad that he hadn't before, he would have easily lost control of his magic back at his house if he had.

"This was Tobias Snape's doing." Lily confirmed, moving to held Mrs. Potter.

"Well that can be dealt with later, there are more important things now." Severus felt someone use magic on him, but he was too tried to really figure out what was going on.

"It's okay Sev, that's just Mrs. Potter, she's doing a diagnostic spell on you to see if anything is broken." Sirius comforted, seeing the fear rising in the boys eyes at foreign magic being used on him.

"Honestly, you boys are all to familiar with this spell." Mrs. Potter gave both of her boys a hard look, to which they looked rightly guilty, before returning all of her attention to Severus. "No broken bones, but a lot of bruising. I can take care of all the injuries on his face except the nose with a few quick spells, but I'm afraid that his broken nose and bruised ribs will take time to heal."

"What about a concussion, he looked like his got hit on the head pretty bad." Sirius asked and Mrs. Potter did another quick scan. "Sh, Sev, it's okay."

"No, no concussion, but you're right, I am going to have to heal that bump too." Mrs. Potter went to work using minor heal spells, Sirius soothing Severus every time he got agitated by the magic.

"You would think he's done this before." Lily whispered to James, the other three occupants seemed to have forgotten about their presence, they had since taken a seat on James' bed and watched, waiting until they were needed.

"Despite his haughty and arrogant exterior at school, Sirius is really just a softy at heart." James smiled, no teasing in his voice.

"I heard that, Prongs." Sirius muttered, though he didn't take his eyes away from Severus.

"If you acted like this at school you'd get even more girls." Lily joked.

"Not really interested in girls, Lils." Sirius grinned wolfishly, this time turning to wink at the surprised girl.

"That is also just an act." James laughed at the girl's obvious surprise.

"Well I knew he fancied men, that much was obvious, I just didn't think he didn't fancy women at all!" Lily cried in her own defense, but laughed all the same.

Severus was used to Mrs. Potter prodding him with magic at this point, and while he was very tired, he did hear their entire conversation. So Sirius did have a mask on at school, just like he had thought. Did that mean that his play boy act was really just an act? Could that mean that he and Sirius could actually have a go at a real relationship? Was that even what he wanted? He had so many questions and absolutely no energy to investigate any of them.

"Here drink these up and you can go to sleep." Mrs. Potter handed Severus various potions that he drank without question. It was obvious that he was much to tired to put up a fight or to even question what he was ingesting. When he was done, he turned to his side, burying his face in Sirius' side before falling into a deep sleep. "I gave him a mild sleeping drought so he can sleep through most of the pain so I wouldn't expect him to wake until morning, let me know if you lot need anything, I'll be preparing supper if you do."

"Thanks Mum." James stood to close the door after she left, turning to Lily and Sirius with pointed looks. "I think I've waited long enough for a explanation.

"Well you're going to have to wait a moment longer." Lily chided moving to aid Sirius who was picking up the sleeping boy.

"Thanks, the clean sheets are in the bottom drawer. Prongs can you get a fresh set of clothes? I can change him, but I need you to get them for me." Rolling his eyes, James went through Sirius' messy drawers, pulling out an old tee-shirt, a pair of pajama pants, and a clean pair of boxers.

Making quick work of changing the sheets, Lily helped Sirius remove Severus' clothes. When he was dressed in clean clothes and tucked into a clean bed, Sirius sat by him again, holding him close, and Lily and James sat opposite him on James' bed.

"Well then?" James all but demanded, though he kept his voice down, he knew that he shouldn't be able to wake the boy, but he wasn't going to risk it.

"Well what? What do you want me to tell you?" Sirius bit back. He was to tired for James and his idiocies. He really did love him and understood that if the situations were reversed he would also be upset at not being told, but he also knew that he would have reacted much better than James currently was.

"I want to know whatever it is that you're hiding from me!" James' voice rose that time and Lily turned to glare at him.

"Just because Sirius didn't tell you something doesn't mean that you can go an attack him!" Lily jumped in to defend the hurt Gryffindor, she had never seem the boys fight before and it scared her, she had never seen this side of James until now.

"So he told you and not me?"

"No, I just happen to be more observant than you. And further more, maybe he didn't tell you because he wasn't sure what the bloody hell was going on and he didn't need you and your horrible reaction to cloud his judgement!"

"Cloud his judgement? Sure I admit that no one should ever endure what Snape obviously has to, but that doesn't mean you go all hero complex on him and fall for him for the same blinded reasons you fell for me!"James was glaring at Sirius, but he was surprised when the boy wasn't even looking at him. Instead he was looking at the boy in his arms.

"If you were done yelling I think we're waking him and I for one don't want him to deal with more pain today." Sirius couldn't look at James. His anger was only kept in check by him knowing that if he lost it, he could potentially hurt Severus and that was the last thing he wanted to do. Lily was right though, he had known that James would react badly, he didn't know if he would have ever told him if something had actually happened between him and Slytherin. But something had happened. Now that the adrenaline was no longer coursing through him and he actually had a moment to stop and think, images of the moments before Tobias came home flooded Sirius' mind. What he wouldn't give to go back to that. If it weren't for Lily and James, Sirius knew for a fact that he would be lying beside Severus holding him as close as he could without further harming the boy.

"Fine. Tell me this, you've been meeting him in the woods haven't you." James looked to the sleeping boy suspiciously. He couldn't bring himself to say his name.

"Yes." The answer was short and testy and it only made James even more mad.

"Thats all the explanation that I get?" James demanded and this time Lily stood up, getting it James' way before he could do something it might regret later.

"Come on, James, I think it's best we let him rest and we can talk later." Lily tried to console him, but it was obvious that she said the wrong words.

"No, I'm tired of the two of you treating me like a child!"

"Fine, but if you want to talk, then we have to actually talk, not yell at each other." Sirius spoke up knowing that there was no avoiding having this conversation any longer. Lily sat back down again and after a moment James did too, looking at least more relaxed now that they agreed to talk to him. "You want to know what happened, but I don't really know. One minute I was wandering the forest and the next at had him at wand point. We exchanged words, but he helped me out of the forest so I knew I had to at least be thankful for that. I didn't want to believe it was him that night, the person I met in the woods was so different than the Severus we knew at Hogwarts. But then I was thinking more and I realized that the only difference was that you weren't there to start a fight. That's when I realized I couldn't tell you."

"That's not fair you fought with him too!" James shot back.

"I only fought with him because you did James. I loved you, I still do, and you were my only real family, the only person I was afraid to let down. But I never _liked_ picking on him. That is probably the biggest mistake I've ever made. Look, I don't know what is going on between us, but James I _really_ like him. It would mean a lot to me if you could just understand that and accept that. I'm not asking you to be best friends with him or to even like him, I'm not asking you to do anything but understand that I'm you're best mate and it would mean a lot to me if you just _understand._"

"I don't know." James looked at Sirius' arms wrapped around the Slytherin, he had a feeling that Sirius did most of the things that he did at school just because James had done it first, but he didn't like the thought that he would pretend to be someone just to make him happy. He didn't want his friend, his brother, to feel like he had to act a certain way to get his approval. "I need time to think." James then stood and walked out. Looking back once more on the two boys with a sad look in her eyes, Lily went after him leaving Sirius and Severus alone.

"Why do you keep defending me?" Severus whispered when the door shut startling Sirius.

"He did wake you," Sirius slid down so he could lie beside him, Severus moving his face into his neck, worming his way closer to the Gryffindor. "Go back to sleep, you must be in pain."

"Don't ignore my question." Severus growled, though he was to tired to make is sound threatening.

"I want to defend you, it's partially my fault for all of the shit James gives you, it's time to make it right." Sirius placed a kiss on his forehead absentmindedly, not realizing again how intimate the situation was and how easy it was to be so intimate Severus.

"You are such a romantic fool." Severus looked up the small smile on his face made Sirius bark with laughter.

"If you will have me, then I will be your romantic fool." Sirius' smile only grew when shocked tears feel from Severus' eyes.

"My fool." Severus breathed, any other words he might have spoken were lost on Sirius' lips as they shared a passionate, tender kiss.

"Your fool." Sirius agreed. "Now go to sleep so you can get better and I can show you just how much of me is yours."

Despite the pain, Severus slept soundly that night, more excited than he thought he should be about the following morning and whatever the rest of the summer might bring him and his fool.

TBC


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

Summary: Severus/Sirius Marauders' summer before seventh year. James and Sirius got kicked out of James's house for the afternoon, AGAIN. In their boredom they pay a visit to their old pal Lily Evans. Sirius never expects to bump into Severus Severus on their trip and he really never expected to fall in love.

* * *

_Last Chapter_

_"If you will have me, then I will be your romantic fool." Sirius' smile only grew when shocked tears feel from Severus' eyes._

_"My fool." Severus breathed, any other words he might have spoken were lost on Sirius' lips as they shared a passionate, tender kiss._

_"Your fool." Sirius agreed. "Now go to sleep so you can get better and I can show you just how much of me is yours."_

_Despite the pain, Severus slept soundly that night, more excited than he thought he should be about the following morning and whatever the rest of the summer might bring him and his fool._

* * *

**Chapter Six**

The sun shown brightly through the open widow of James and Sirius' room the next morning. Trying to shield his eyes from the onslaught of sunlight, Sirius realized that he was not alone in his bed. Memories from the day before flooded his mind and he opened his eyes slowly, happy to see that it hadn't been all a dream. Severus lay still sound asleep beside him. To Sirius, he looked so much younger when he slept, the whatever stressors in his life weren't weighing down on him and making him look much older than he was. Gently, he pushed the boys bangs aside, happy to see that all the cuts and bruises on his face were healed and there were no scars. Mrs. Potter really knew her way around some good healing spells. After examining his face, Sirius looked lower. The shirt he had put Severus in was one of his old ones that hardly fit him, but looked very large on the thin boy. He never noticed in school, but Severus was really much too thin and after seeing how his poor excuse for a father treated him, Sirius had a sinking feeling as to why he was so thin. He pulled the boy closer, placing his head on top of his hoping the the closeness would bring the boy some comfort.

"Are you going to stare at me all morning?" Severus asked surprising Sirius into blushing, something he was glad that the other boy couldn't see.

"Maybe, you are breathtakingly gorgeous." Sirius admitted, his blush only deepening.

"You don't mean that." Severus sounded angry, but when he pulled away to look at Sirius he only saw pure sincerity in his eyes and the blush on his cheeks. "Romantic fool." Severus grinned. _Someone finds me appealing_. He kissed Sirius then in thanks and because he found the blush a very good look for the boy.

"How could anyone not see that?" Sirius smiled when he pulled away from the kiss. "But if you don't believe me, I'm sure I can find a way to prove to you just have attractive you are."

A knock at the door stopped Sirius before he could make do on his promise. Grumbling, Sirius sighed, "Later, I promise you." Kissing Severus' eager lips once more, Sirius stood to answer the door.

* * *

James had spent the night in one of the guests room, needing time and space to come to terms with what he had learned the night before. He certainly was promising to become the Slytherin's best friend, but he knew that he had to grow up and accept that Sirius really cared about him, even if he didn't understand why. "You will, if you just took the time to get to know him." Lily had reassured him multiple times that night and as much as he wanted to believe her, he still wasn't sure how they could be friends after everything that had happened.

He hadn't gotten much sleep that night, tossing and turning trying to come to terms with the idea that he was going to have to forget all of the things he had thought he'd known about the Slytherin and actually try to get alone with him. Lily had said that it would be the mature thing to do and James knew she was right. It also meant making Sirius happy and even though he was keeping secrets he was still his brother. It would also help him with Lily and at this point he was willing to do just about anything to get on her good side. Running his hands through his messy hair, James knew what had to be done. James made his way to his room scared out of his mind. He didn't know how Sirius would react. The night before he had been upset and confused, he hadn't acted rashly and had been more than cruel to a boy who seriously didn't deserve it. Then he had to wonder how Snape would react. They certainly didn't have the best history and as much as he knew that he had to me mature and make things work for Sirius' sake, he didn't know if he _could_. Plucking up all of his Gryffindor courage, James knocked on his own bedroom door.

Sirius opened the door and the bright smile that was on his face suddenly fell. His face became neutral, a mask that James had seen before, but had never been on the receiving end of. It hurt him beyond belief that Sirius was shutting him out, but after the way he had acted the night before, he didn't really blame him. Sighing, James tried his best to give his brother a smile, but Sirius still watched him cautiously, moving slightly to block his view of Severus who still lay in his bed.

"I'm sorry." James almost whispered. Sirius wasn't sure if he heard him right at first, but then he spoke up. "I'm sorry for the way I was acting last night. I don't expect you to forgive me right away, but I want to say sorry to Snape as well."

Watching James carefully, Sirius stepped aside to allow the boy into his own room. The mask was still in place, but James could see the hurt in his eyes, even though it made James feel worse, at least Sirius was showing any emotion at all, it was a start. James walked into his room, eyes focused on Snape. The boy looked shocked to say the least. He was watching James looking between scared and curious as to what James was about to do. Much to both Severus' and Sirius' surprise, James dropped down to his knees and extended his hand to the boy.

"I'm really sorry for everything I've done. I hope that we can work on starting anew for yours and Sirius' sake." The words seemed sincere enough and Severus simply took his hand and shock it.

"It won't be easy, but I appreciate what you're doing." Severus responded, still eying James waiting for there to be some kind of catch. Instead, James simply smiled, a look so kind and pure that Severus started to understand what everyone saw in James Potter that he had never seen before.

"I'm not just doing this for you, though." James stood to face Sirius, who had a small smile on his face and silent tears running down his face. "I'm doing this for my brother, too."

Sirius took the three steps to close the distance between them, pulling James into a huge bear hug. Burying his face in James' shoulder, Sirius let go of his mask and of all the stress of the day before and leaned on his brother, his best mate. "Thank you."

When they parted, James looked around rather embarrassed. He was already dressed for the day, but Sirius was decidedly undressed in his boxers and Severus was still hidden under the covers, he didn't even want to think what he might have interrupted. Clearing his throat James blushed slightly looking for a reason to leave to give the two boys some modesty.

"James come help me with breakfast!" Mrs. Potter called from the first floor giving him the perfect reason to leave.

"I'll tell mum that I just woke you, it should give you enough time to uh-" James continued to blush and quickly made his exit, closing the door behind him.

"That was _interesting_." Severus spoke first, making Sirius' attention focus back on his new lover. Instead of responding, Sirius just crawled back into bed with him, pulling the boy into his arms and kissing him forcefully.

"I'm just glad things are going smoother." Sirius smiled, pushing Severus back into the bed, returning to the same position they where in before James had interrupted them.

"We don't have enough time." Severus halfheartedly argued, but he leaned up to kiss Sirius back, pressing his growing erection into Sirius' already hard length. Both boys moaned at the contact through three very thin layers of fabric. Severus' hands made it through Sirius' hair while the Gryffindor struggled to quickly remove his and Severus' clothes to get more friction. With his help, Sirius was able to get both of them naked from the waste down and instantly both boys moaned at the skin to skin contact. Not missing a beat, Sirius wrapped his hand around both himself and Severus, groaning at the tight feeling of his hand and Severus' cock pressed so close against his own. While Sirius had experience with other guys before, it was completely knew to Severus'. Immediately, Severus closed his eyes when he felt Sirius' hand close around him and allow them to rut madly against each other. He had never felt anything like it before and it wasn't long before he reached his completion, moaning Sirius' name. Feeling the hot fluid on his hands and stomach and hearing Severus' groan his name, Sirius came quickly after him, panting and doing his best not to crush the smaller boy.

"We better clean up before James comes back looking for us." Sirius sighed, moving to the side to allow Severus to sit up.

"Thank you for coming back for me." Severus said suddenly and Sirius simply smiled back.

"I will always come back for you, don't you ever worry about that." With his clean hand, Sirius pulled Severus' head towards his for a sweet, long kiss.

The two boys took turns dashing for the bathroom to clean up and dressed quickly as to not cause suspicion and went to find James and Mrs. Potter in the kitchen.

"Morning dears." Mrs. Potter welcomed them warmly cooking eggs, bacon, and toast while James set the small table in the center of the room. "Now let me look at you." Severus stood awkwardly as Mrs. Potter cast various spells, making noises when certain colors would flash before her eyes before disappearing. Much to all of their surprise, Mrs. Potter then took Severus by the arms, leveling him with a soft, motherly gaze. "You seem to be fairing much better this morning and while I have no way of making you stay, I really hope that you will at least stay the remainder of the summer. James' father works for the Ministry and if you want any action taken against the awful man you can just let us know and we will take care of you."

"Th-thank you Mrs. Potter." Severus stuttered, not quite sure how to react. It had been too long since he had felt the loving arms of his mother and it was the first time that he felt so welcomed and loved by a mere stranger that he felt an immediate trust toward her grow.

"Nonsense, you can call my Mum dear, all the boys do." Mrs. Potter smiled again, turning away to her cooking, bustling about to get the meal on the table.

"See, nothing to worry about." Sirius smiled at his lover, knowing that while he might not have voiced it, Severus had been very worried about how the Potter matriarch would treat him after he was no longer in need of her healing expertise.

There wasn't much time for the two to hold a whispered conversation, they set about helping Mrs. Potter as much as they could and the few moments that they did have standing side by side, James was normally there, watching them with a mixture of confusion and suspicion in his eyes. Right before they were all ready to sit down an tuck in to the miniature breakfast feast, Mr. Potter appeared to join them, dressed smartly in his work robes.

"Good morning family." His deep voice was comforting and wise, though the smile lines on his face and the shine to his eyes made Severus feel that the older wizard was actually a bit of a trickster like James and Sirius. "Well hello there, I'm not sure we've been properly introduced." Mr. Potter looked to Severus curiously, but the smile remained.

"Oh, sorry Dad." James piped up before Severus or Sirius could even think about how to respond. "This is Severus Snape, he's a schoolmate of ours at Hogwarts. He couldn't stay at home anymore and Sirius thought it best he stay." James looked between the boys before smiling himself. "And I agree."

Relief spread through Severus as he met James' eyes. He hadn't been sure what James would tell his father and when he did speak he felt relief for multiple reasons. First he was glad that the boy whom he had until recently very much loathed seemed to accept that he was living in his home and was no longer upset by the notion. Then he glossed over the reason why he was staying, it seemed that james realized that it was his story to tell and he wasn't about to out him to anyone even his own father. Lastly, the look he had given him, they way that he had said that he agreed made Severus feel like the possibility of a friendship between the, something that had seemed impossible just the other night, was starting to form. He only hoped that everything would work out between him and Sirius, something that would only happen if he was able to get along with the rest of his lover's friends.

"Well then, welcome to the family Severus Snape." Mr. Potter said in a jolly way that reminded Severus of the old muggle stories of Old Saint Nicholas that Lily and many of the other muggle children had told him when he was a child.

"Thank you, Sir." Severus smiled fully for the first time in what felt like years. Suddenly he realized that he wouldn't have to spend the rest of his summer getting beaten by his father or scavenging for food because his father never let him eat the food that he was forced to prepare. A huge weight was lifted from his shoulders and for once in his life he was able to just be a kid.

When breakfast was finished James, Sirius, and Mrs. Potter began to clean up and Severus plucked up what little courage he had, he had his suspicions that spending so much time with Sirius was starting to rub off on him, and stopped Mr. Potter before he left.

"Um, Sir, I was hoping for a quick word." Severus tentatively asked, feeling rather foolish for his trepidation when Mr. Potter merely beamed at him.

"Of course, Son." He lead them to the empty drawing room, closing the door soundly behind them. "What's on your mind?"

"I'm not sure what Mrs. Potter, I mean Mum." Severus stuttered, not seeing the gentle smile the man was giving him. "I'm not sure what Mum told you about me coming here, but I just wanted to see if there was a way to keep my Dad from coming after me, or Lily because she did help and he's bound to try and hurt her."

"I would need you to come down to the Ministry, you would all have to give a statement about what happened and then we would have to see what happens before true legal action was taken, but I'm sure until then I can place a guard with the Evans'. As for him coming here, well there are too many magical wards up for him to even come within a couple meters. I wouldn't worried about him coming around here, if you're really worried about Miss Evans' safety I'm sure we can arrange for her to stay here until everything can be taken care of."

"Thank you, Mr. Potter, I really just want to make sure that she stays safe." Severus replied honestly, feeling much better about everything knowing that someone as formidable as Mr. Potter was now on his side, willing to help.

"Well then I'm sure you don't want to be hanging around a boring place like that today, I'll be sure to set up a time for all four of you to give your statements tomorrow, I should be able to get some time off my day to go with you."

"Thank you very much, Sir. I won't be able to repay you and Mum for everything you've done for me."

"Nonsense. Now I best be off to work, you boys have a good day." Mr. Potter stood and lead then back out into the kitchen where James and Sirius seemed to be causing more trouble than helping and Mrs. Potter looked exasperated with the two. "You boys behave for your mother now." Mr. Potter looked pointedly at his sons and then smiled and kissed his wife. "Bye all."

"Bye Dad." James and Sirius chorused and Severus felt a bit left out, but pushed the feel aside. Sirius seemed like a blood brother to James and while Severus didn't expect that he would feel that close to the Potters so quickly, he felt rather jealous of the family that Sirius had been able to create for himself, something that Severus had never really been able to accomplish, especially after his mother's death.

"Well off you go, boys, can't have you running amok while I'm cleaning." Mrs. Potter eyed the two trouble makers before turning to smile at Severus. "If you need anything dear, don't hesitate to ask."

"She already loves you more than me." James muttered though there was no malice in his voice and Severus could have swore he had seen a hint of a smile.

"Not true, I just enjoy having a young man around the house that does not insist on blowing it up!"

"That was only once and we only made the toilet explode." Sirius whined and Mrs. Potter gave her a very unamused look. "Yes Mum." James and Sirius hung their heads and Severus chuckled.

"I know, why don't we have Lily come by and play two on two quidditch." James suggested, leaving his poor Mum to fetch his owl with Severus and Sirius close on his heels.

Within the hour, Lily had come over with an overnight bag packed and her broomstick. After getting her settled down in one of the spare rooms, the four took to the air in the spacious backyard for a friendly, but still competitive quidditch match.

"I will not play if Sirius and James are on the same team! You're a brilliant flyer Sev, but honestly when the two of them join forces, on anything for that matter, it becomes dangerous!' Lily proclaimed loudly which lead James and Sirius to attempt to act innocent, and Severus to snigger at their failing attempts.

"That's fine, I rather thought we'd make it a couple thing." Sirius winked and sidled up Severus, giving him a genuine smile instead of the leer he often gave to his "Squeeze of the Week" back at Hogwarts."

"We are not a couple!" Lily exclaimed looking nervously at James, who simply laughed it off with ease, smiling at the sweet couple Severus and Sirius made while Severus tried to bat away his lover's joking kisses.

"Unless you two need a room, let's get this game started!" James half complained, half teased as he summoned the old, battered chest from the old shed. "I suppose we should have a keeper and a chaser, that seems to work best."

With a flick of his wand, Sirius made goal posts from scraps thrown around the lawn, hovering in the air to examine his handy work. "You ought to be keeper, Severus, I'm crap at it."

After some awkward moving around in the air, James and Severus hovered in the center of their makeshift arena and Sirius and Lily took up their positions at the posts. Raising her wand, Lily made the quaffle shoot up into the air and the game began. With more grace then Severus thought he should poses, James flew after the ball, catching it with ease before soaring off to the goal posts. Lily and Severus were left to watch while James zoomed off, faking to the left before scoring the first points of the game. Severus was not going to let James steal the spotlight however and he soon sped after the quaffle falling from the goal posts, beating James to it before taking off down the field. The Gryffindor tried to bump him to take the ball, but Severus held on firm, and threw the ball into the center goal too fast for Lily to catch it. Much of the game was played in this fashion, the teams were rather well matched and in the end, when Mrs. Potter came out to call on them for lunch, they were tied.

Lunch passed in a fan fair of elbow bumping, plate passing, and general commotion. Severus felt rather bad for the way that James and Sirius treated their Mum, but when he saw the indulgent smile flash across her face after rolling her eyes at whatever moronic thing the boys had just done, Severus had a feeling that despite her complaining, she loved all the fuss the boys put up. It was strange, but nice for him to feel like part of a family, like this welcoming group that he was with actually included him and treated him like he belonged. Besides his summer adventure with Lily, he had never really felt like a part of something. The boys in Slytherin mostly kept to themselves, though occasionally one of the older boys, by the name of Lucius Malfoy, would be less harsh to him and it had always felt somewhat nice to think that the now graduated Head Boy had, if not liked him, at least thought better of him then some of the rest.

"Why don't we go up to my room? I have an old Wizard's chest set and exploding snap." James suggested, sensing his mother's relief as they helped clean up and then filed out of the kitchen. He really did have the best Mum there was and he wondered if maybe every once in a while he and Sirius really ought to let up on making her life chaotic.

"Sure, I haven't played Wizard's chess in a while, care for a game?" Severus asked James, the first real time they were speaking directly to one another where no one else was involved. Lily and Sirius watched from the stair behind with bated breath, wondering how James would respond.

"Of course not, I get sick of beating Sirius all the time anyways." He joked and his best mate scowled.

"You do not beat me! I just can't sit still for that long." Sirius whined and Lily rolled her eyes.

"Exploding snap should hold your attention long enough, I hope."

So the four settled in James' room, Lily and Sirius on Sirius' old bed playing cards and Severus and James on James' bed deeply enthralled in their game. Between rounds of exploding snap, Lily and Sirius would stop to watch the two, until Sirius would loudly exclaim that he was bored and they would start up another round.

It was in the middle of another round of cards that Severus triumphantly cried "Check mate!" and Lily and Sirius looked up in time to see James' King get smashed to pieced by Severus' Queen. Again the tension between the two seemed to return and hang between them while the two other occupants held their breath.

"Good game." James said finally, holding out his hand. He seemed to come out of the shock of losing, he didn't often and normally only to Remus, but he also seemed genuinely happy as Severus tentatively shook his hand. "I wouldn't mind playing chess with you any time you want, it was truly a good game."

"Thank you." Severus replied, shocked when Sirius was at his side almost instantly, kissing him on the cheek easily.

"Good job! I can never beat that part." Severus blushed deeply and looked uncomfortable at the sudden public sign of affection. Lily smiled knowingly and he wasn't bothered by what she might think, but he wasn't sure he was ready to test the fragile friendship he was just beginning to build with James due to Sirius and his rash impulses. But James wasn't looking at Severus, instead he was looking at Sirius with an odd, curious stare. Sirius seemed to notice that he had crossed some unspoken line with James and stared back, defiant, but obviously worried.

"A word, Padfoot?" Using their secret nicknames, James watched as his best mate nodded and stood. He wasn't sure how he felt about this sudden moment of public affection, it seemed almost causal and he didn't think that Sirius noticed that Severus seemed bothered by it, he just hoped that he could talk some sense into his best mate before he ruined something good that hadn't even really started.

"My room then?" The words sounded weird on Sirius' ears, he had always thought of this room as his, but he knew that with Severus there, it was just James' room again. He wasn't sure if he was sad or happy because of this. On the one hand he really wanted to spend his nights in Severus' arms, but on the other he would really miss the late night chats and musing with James. As if he understood, James smiled gently, leading him to the door.

"We'll just be a few." James nodded to Lily and Severus before leaving the room for the guest room next to his. He waited for Sirius to enter and shut the door, both boys sitting on the single bed before he spoke again. "What are you playing at?"

"What do you mean?"

"Didn't you see how uncomfortable Severus just got in there?" James tried to sound gentle, but he was obviously annoyed.

"No, what are you talking about?" Sirius was really confused, he had no idea what James was talking about.

"When you kissed him on the cheek, he didn't know what to do with himself. Have you even talked to him about PDA? If you really wanted to make things work I would think that watching out for his feelings would be important to you." James said more harshly then he had meant to. His words stung and Sirius was torn between feeling horrible to causing Severus discomfort and being mad and James for prying so deeply into his new relationship. He decided to settle on feeling bad for hurting Severus.

"I hadn't noticed." Sirius responded looking rather ashamed of his behavior.

"You are trying this out for the long hall, though right? I mean, you're not going to love him and leave him like you do all the others back at school." James prodded bringing Sirius out of his guilt ridden stupor.

"I don't know if we'll last the long haul, I mean look at the odds, but I want to try. I suppose I could do a bit better at being more attentive though." Sirius looked sheepish and James smiled. He had gotten his point across, that was all he really wanted.

"Good, neither of you deserve that." The conversation was over, Sirius could tell that James, although willing to accept that something was happening between his best mate and once worst enemy, he didn't want to discus their love life in any more detail than to actually admit that it existed. He did seem, however, to care enough to salvage something that was still in it's infant stages.

Leaving the room with a smile on his face, Sirius rejoined Lily and Severus. He sat down next to his lover, smiling gently. "I'm sorry." He mouthed, placing his hand, palm up on this thigh. Relaxing, Severus placed his hand in Sirius' bigger one, lacing their fingers together. James joined Lily on the bed across with a smile on his face.

"I don't know what you did, but you defused a bomb." Lily whispered, surprised when she felt James' arm casually wrap around her waste. At first she thought to remove it, but whether it be the infectious glee she felt from the couple across from them or if it was because James had just done something very mature and had impressed her, Lily allowed James to simply hold her, enjoying the peaceful moment with her three boys.

TBC


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

Summary: Severus/Sirius Marauders' summer before seventh year. James and Sirius got kicked out of James's house for the afternoon, AGAIN. In their boredom they pay a visit to their old pal Lily Evans. Sirius never expects to bump into Severus Severus on their trip and he really never expected to fall in love.

* * *

_Last Chapter_

_Leaving the room with a smile on his face, Sirius rejoined Lily and Severus. He sat down next to his lover, smiling gently. "I'm sorry." He mouthed, placing his hand, palm up on this thigh. Relaxing, Severus placed his hand in Sirius' bigger one, lacing their fingers together. James joined Lily on the bed across with a smile on his face._

_"I don't know what you did, but you defused a bomb." Lily whispered, surprised when she felt James' arm casually wrap around her waste. At first she thought to remove it, but whether it be the infectious glee she felt from the couple across from them or if it was because James had just done something very mature and had impressed her, Lily allowed James to simply hold her, enjoying the peaceful moment with her three boys._

* * *

**Chapter Seven**

The next morning a tense calm fell over the Potter home. No one seemed willing to lighten the mood when they were all too worried about the up-and-coming hearing that would decided if Severus could become an emancipated minor, or if his father would continue to be his legal guardian. Sirius sat dutifully by Severus' side, their hands entwined and the smaller boy did his best to gather any strength that he could from the physical touch. Even Lily and James seemed to sit closer than usual, Lily's eyes flitting between the pair before her and then to James, worry clear on her face. Even Mr. Potter seemed grim as he ate with a sort of determination, his normal smile never making it onto his face. Only Mrs. Potter seemed to be of better spirits, bustling between the stove and the table, making a feast for them "To get your spirits up and you strength about you," but no one really seemed all that interested in food.

"Alright then we're off." Mr. Potter announced suddenly, shocking everyone in the previously silent room to stare at him as if he had just appeared. "Thank you for breakfast, dear." He proceeded to kiss his wife on the cheek before ushering the four teenagers to their feet. "Come on then, might as well get this over with."

Sirius squeezed his lovers hand before letting go and reaching for both of their cloaks. With the ease of someone who had done it many times before, he helped Severus' with his cloak, clasping it before putting on his own. James followed his lead by helping Lily, but the act was far more clumsy and the girl was brought to nervous laughter by his sloppy attempt. The light noise brought a calm about the room and soon everyone was laughing at James' expense, though the boy didn't seem to mind, it was as if everyone was able to breath easily again.

"Everything will be fine, I swear I won't leave your side." Sirius whispered under the noise of the laughter and Severus' gratefully leaned back into his touch, allowing him to wrap his arms tightly around his waist from behind, even for just a moment.

"You better not." Severus' bit back jokingly though the small smile on his face showed that Sirius had said exactly what he had needed to hear.

"Always." Sirius reassured, letting go once more to make for the portkey, keeping his hand interlaced with Severus'.

"Right then, we should be back no later than by dinner time." Mr. Potter brought the attention back to the task at hand, also making for the old boot. James and Lily followed, smiling back at Mrs. Potter before the password was spoken and the portkey whisked them away to the nearest ally to the muggle world entrance to the Ministry. "Keep close now."

The five made their way to the dilapidated phone booth and all walked in, the spells placed on it allowing for all of them to fit quite easily. As soon as the door closed, the eerie, detached female voice spoke from the pay phone.

"Please state your name and purpose."

"I am Mr. Malcolm James Potter. I am reporting for work as well as escorting James Potter, Sirius Black, Severus Snape, and Lily Evans to their public hearing at precisely 11 o'clock am in front of the Wizengamot."

"Thank you Mr. Potter. Visitors must take the passes and secure them to their person before proceeding." With a little scrambling and bumping of elbows, the four teenagers withdrew the tags from the coin slot and pinned them to their cloaks. Lily was the only one that did not hold on to the side of the box in time and tumbled ungracefully into James who made up for his clumsiness that morning by catching her with ease and setting her back on her feet, smiling kindly at the blush that colored her cheeks.

The lift stopped in the lobby of the Ministry. Mr. Potter stepped out first, ushering the teens along through the busy morning rush. They were lucky and found an empty lift that would take them to the Magical Law Enforcement department offices where the four would wait until the hearing. With little fuss, Sirius, Severus, James, and Lily found themselves sitting at Mr. Potter's cramped cubical around his cluttered desk.

"Now you lot stay here, I have to run some errands before the hearing." He started to leave before adding as an afterthought, "Oh and stay out of trouble."

Scoffing, James jokingly mimicked his father before turning to the other's noticing the that the tension had returned. "Well what trouble could we get ourselves into in less then two hours?" He joked in an attempt to bring some cheer,

"Best we stay put." Lily said firmly and James looked at her with hurt, puppy-dog eyes.

"No fair, you take the fun out of everything." James complained half-heartedly. "Then what are we supposed to do then?"

"Well I think it's important first to figure out who is going to speak for Severus, I'm not sure putting him in front of the Minister alone is such a good idea." Lily looked to her shaking friend, the pale sickly look he had adopted since stepping off the lift that morning only proving her point.

"Well then you should, obviously." Sirius spoke up for the first time since they had arrived. He had been doing his best to comfort his lover without overcrowding him at the same time and hadn't given much thought about the trial. "They're going to want memories and you've known him much longer then we have. You would be the best person."

"Are you sure you want me to give them memories?" Lily asked her best friend worriedly.

"If it will keep that man away from me, then yes." Severus spoke, his voice uneven and frail sounding in comparison to the low, smooth baritone that the group was accustom to.

"Well then, that's settled-" Lily didn't finish her sentence, the unanswered question of _what happens next?_ hung in the air only adding to the foreboding feeling.

"I say that after this we go out somewhere fun, like a muggle club or something." James suggested, trying to change the subject before everyone became too sick to their stomachs with worry.

"That sounds fun, actually." Lily agreed, though she highly doubted Severus would agree.

"I don't know." Sirius chose his words carefully as he too seemed to realize that it would not be something that Severus would normally agree to, though he might feel that he would have to agree given the situation in was in and just how much his friends were willing to help him, he would feel like he had to say yes to repay them. "What do you think, Sev?"

"Maybe." The Slytherin recognized that Sirius was giving him a clear out and he was grateful for that, but he also knew that Sirius loved to party and that he would want to go out especially after a stressful day like today was clearly becoming. "I wouldn't have anything to wear though." He knew it was a lame excuse, but he hoped that Sirius understood that he wasn't entirely comfortable with the idea of going out into such a public place. He had never really been fond of people, especially in large groups and the idea of a muggle club sounded terrifying, though if he had Sirius with him, it might not be as bad.

"Dress shouldn't be a problem. I'm sure James or I have something you could borrow if you wanted to." SIrius took his and and started to gently massage the boys smaller palm with his thumb.

"Alright." Severus nodded slowly. Sirius was still letting him decided, it was still up to him to chose if he wanted to go or not and he was eternally grateful that he was being given an option and not just pushed into it. "I'll think about it."

It was clear that Severus didn't want to talk about the subject any longer so Sirius let it go. He would respect his boyfriend's wishes. If he really didn't want to go out, then he would be more than happy to spend an evening in with him, relaxing or maybe exploring their relationship even further. Either way, Sirius just wanted him to feel safe and be happy, he didn't care where they were as long as he knew that Severus was comfortable. He continued to stroke the other boy's hand as conversation drifted to the new school year. It was mostly James and Lily talking, Sirius was listening half-heartedly and Severus was lost in thoughts about the up-and-coming hearing. The time passed much to fast for anyone's liking and soon Mr. Potter had returned to bring them to the court hall.

Severus was nearly shaking by the time 11 o'clock came around, it was only because Sirius was standing next to him and physically holding him up in his arms that he didn't fall to the floor because his legs were too weak to support him. Lily and James had already gone in to take their seats, allowing the couple a few moments alone.

"I'm so scared." Severus nearly weeped, the anxiety forcing him to admit what he would never have said normally.

"I know you are, but I promise you that no matter what happens we will all stand by you, we will keep you safe." Sirius did his best to hold his own composure. Of course he was scared as well, but he new that he couldn't show it in front of the scared teen. He only wished that the hearing would go quickly, knowing that Severus would not be able to handle the stress of it for much longer.

"You promise?" Severus asked weakly needing to hear him say it again, hoping that the words alone would put his fears at ease and secure the outcome he so desperately needed.

"I promise." Sirius nodded, sealing it with a sweet, gentle kiss. "Come on, the sooner we go in there the faster we can get this over with."

Severus reluctantly allowed Sirius to pull him into the large hall, grateful that the other boy tightened his grip on his hand rather then letting go when they came into full view of the occupants of the court room. Many eyes watched the odd pair and soon the whispered started. There were not many people in the room. The Minister of Magic sat at the head of the room surrounded by prominent members from within the Ministry and various members of the Wizengamot. James and Lily sat to one side with Mr. Potter while an agitated Tobias Snape sat on the other side. When Severus' eyes fell upon his father, his eyes went cold and he stood straighter, pulling himself together and walking with confidence that he did not believe he possessed to his seat besides Lily. He would not show weakness in front of that man.

"This hearing is to determine whether or not Mister Severus Snape will be emancipated from his father muggle Mister Tobias Snape based on evidence of domestic violence." The Minister started and Severus looked across to his father who seemed to become angrier by the second.

"You _freaks_ have no right to take my son away from me! No matter what the weak arse might have claimed." There was a sudden uproar in the hall and it took nearly ten minutes for the Minister to get order back.

"It is that attitude precisely that we have to question. This is the safety of a child we're discussing."

"The boy is safest with this father." Tobias argued not seeming to understand that he was angering many strong wizards in witches that were sitting around him.

"Enough, I will call the first witness. Lily Evans please come forward." Lily stood from her seat, squeezing Severus' shoulder before walking to the seat in front of the Minister. "Please state your full name and your relationship with Mister Severus Snape."

"My name is Lily Evans and I am a long childhood friend and neighbor of Severus." Lily spoke calmly and clearly. Severus knew that he couldn't have chosen any one better then his best friend to speak for him. She was calmer than he would ever be on the stand and he was confident that if anyone she would be able to provide the evidence necessary to get his father permanently out of his life.

"Have you ever witnessed Tobias Snape abusing his son?"

"Yes, on many occasions, not excluding the night that we took Severus from his house for fear of his safety."

"She's his friend of course she's going to take his side!" Tobias screamed and this time he was silenced by magic.

"Would you be willing to give your memories of these events for the Wizengamot to review?" Everyone ignored the furious man and focused on the young woman, awaiting her response.

"Of course." Lily took her wand from the holster under her robes and waited for a pensive to be presented to her before she began to extract her memories, five in total.

"We will review these memories now and adjure again in an hours time during which you," the Minister looked angrily to Tobias who was still silent and trying to scream thinking that eventually his voice would return, "will be put in a cell for the safety of others and for your own."

Lily returned to the others, pulling Severus into a tight hug. "I'm sorry I know how private you are, I tried to give them the least intrusive memories that I could.

"It's okay." Severus murmured into her hair pulling her closer. "Thank you."

Lily smiled in return, pulling away from him and taking James' hand into her own, surprising the other boy. "We should go and get some air. I'm sure everything will turn out for the best."

The hour passed faster than Severus has expected, the anxiety threatening to make time move slower, but having his boyfriend and best friend with him really helped and before he knew it he was sitting in front of the Minister in the seat that Lily had occupied.

"After reviewing the memories, we have come to the conclusion that Mister Tobias Snape is guilty of child abuse and is not suitable to be Severus' guardian. Also after careful consideration we have decided to grant Mister Snape emancipation seeing as he is close to coming to age." A tall, older wizard from the Wizengamot spoke with a booming voice, reacting quicker than anyone assume he could by magically binding Tobias to his seat before he could jump up and attack his son. He also silenced the man keeping his filthy words from filling the air.

The relief that Severus felt was immediate. He would never have to go back to his house. His father would no longer have control of his muggle funds and he would be able to transfer the money to his Gringotts' account and actually be able to afford non-hand-me-down school robes and textbooks. He knew that he must had stood up and rejoined his friends, but all he could remember is being engulfed by hugs from Sirius, Lily, and even James much to the Slytherin's surprise. The rest of the afternoon flew by in a blur. They went out for a celebratory lunch and before he knew it, he was back at the Potter's getting ready to go back out for the night to a muggle club.

It must have been the relief and extreme cheer from the outcome of the hearing that lead Severus to agree to going out for the night, or at least that was what he had convinced himself as he glared at his reflection in the mirror. He was wearing an outfit that was a mix of James' and Sirius' clothes charmed to fit him and while he didn't find it uncomfortable it just wasn't _him_. Lily was sitting at the foot of Sirius' bed, Severus had banned his boyfriend from the room out of sheer embarrassment and he was changing in James' room across the hall.

"You know that you will have to leave this room in order to go out tonight, right?" Lily asked lightly trying to tread carefully and not upset the irritated Slytherin.

"Yes, but do I have to wear _this_?" Severus motioned about himself to the ensemble that Lily had thrown together for him exasperatedly. The fact that he was willing to go out at all was a minor miracle, honestly he felt that his attire was pushing it. Ignoring Lily's sighs and her protests, Severus resumed his staring contest with the mirror. He did have to admit that she had done a good job. James' muggle jeans hung low on his hips and managed to hug his lean legs close without constricting his movement. The plain white cotton shirt also fit him perfectly, pulling across his chest giving the illusion that there was more muscle there then the boy possessed. The rather modest outfit was completed with a simple black vest that he had gotten from Sirius which Lily kept insisting was meant not to be buttoned. "The shirt is too short." Severus tried his point again, lifting his arm to prove that the shirt indeed short and a thin strip of his stomach was revealed every time he moved.

"That's the point, Sirius won't be able to take his eyes off of you." With that the girl stood and left the room, making it obvious that the conversation was over and that he was supposed to follow her. WIth one last forlorn look in the mirror, Severus slowly made his way to the front of the house.

James and Sirius stood in entrance with their backs to Lily and Severus. Lily cleared her throat to signal their arrival and both boys turned, their hearts stopping when their eyes feel on their respective lovers. Lily wore a light blue cowl neck halter dress that hugged and ruched at the hip. The dip of the cowl neck left little to the imagination and the back was cut low to to show off a generous amount of her pale skin. James was wearing jeans similar to the ones he had leant to Severus and a blue short-sleeve button up that was only half done up, revealing a portion of his naked chest. Sirius wore skin tight leather pants and a muggle graphic-tee that also looked painted on his body.

"You look amazing." Sirius smiled genuinely, pulling Severus into a hug, kissing away the anxious look that his lover was still wearing.

"You don't mean that." Severus whispered annoyed.

"Are you sure?" Sirius pressed their bodies closer so he could clearly feel his growing erection. The shocked look that crossed Severus' face was quickly replaced with a look of lust and longing.

"We should probably go before they start taking each other's clothes off." Lily laughed, not realized that James was still in shock over her revealing dress.

"What ever you say, dear." James answered mechanically. Lily rolled her eyes, taking his hand and opening the door. "Well this will be interesting."

Lily lead the group of hormonal boys to the apparition point, making sure that James side-alonged with Sirius and she with Severus to insure that no one would splinch themselves. They appeared in an ally near a popular muggle club in downtown London. Pulling the boys along, Lily walked straight up to bouncer at the head of the line.

"Uh, Lil, shouldn't we get in line?" Sirius asked eyeing the scowling man wearily.

"Don't worry about a thing." Lily flashed the bouncer a smile, dropping her eyes in a flirtatious way. "Hey Conner."

"Well look who it is. Where's that bothersome sister of yours?" The bouncer's whole demeanor changed and he eyed the boys around Lily suspiciously.

"She doesn't approve of clubbing." Lily rolled her eyes. "But I have my boys with me today, you won't have to worry about me."

"I suppose you want me to let all three of them in with you," Conner looked between the three again seeming to consider whether or not he was going to let me in.

"I would greatly appreciate it." Lily smiled again, moving slightly in a way that gave him a generous look at her chest before moving to cover herself up again.

"Alright then, you be careful." Conner stepped aside, allowing the four entrance to the club.

"What in the world was that about?" James nearly demanded as they made their way further into the club and the music threatened to drown out his voice.

"Oh he's just a friend." Lily answered easily, flashing James the same charming smile that she had just used to get them in. "Never mind that." Lily laughed and took his hand dragging him to the dance floor. "Come on you two! This night is supposed to be fun!"

"I don't dance." Severus said bluntly, looking to Sirius who was still staring after Lily oddly.

"Don't worry, I'll show you." Sirius smiled wolfishly, his thoughts turning back to just how sexy his boyfriend was, eyeing him hungrily before dragging him to the dance floor, following Lily and James into the throng of people.

TBC


End file.
